Lost
by robinh
Summary: The team is following three gun smugglers. The chase leads them deep into the woods. Things are out of control pretty quickly. McKono fic at the heart of it, based in season 3.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: I do not own Hawaii five 0. The characters are CBS property. This is a new (short) multi chapter fic. Based in season 3. It has a case in the core of it, with McKono at the beginning, potentially with the rest of the team and other characters joining in later. Still working on the details, so we'll see...

Please tell me what you think.

* * *

"I hate this fucking island."

"I heard you."

They keep going on and on, deeper and deeper into the forest, in a fast pace, following Steve's lead. They've been walking like this for the last couple of hours, and there's still no sign of the three gun smugglers they are looking for. They are all tired and messy and sweaty as hell. Danny is on the verge of insanity, and if he says one more word, Steve swears, he's gonna shoot him.

"You can't possibly know where you're going" Danny continues, oblivious to the murderous train of thoughts he provokes within his partner's mind "it's all just leafs and trees and mud. I think you're lost, and that you're just too embarrassed to admit it."

"I'm not lost, Danny. I'm following the suspects' trail, which is _my job. _A job I was _trained_ how to do, and that I was actually _doing_ for many, many years before today. Trust me I know where we're going, just keep up and... _shut up_."

"Trail? what trail?" Danny cries again, in what looks like some kind of a suicidal tendency they weren't aware he possessed "the weed is as tall as you, you can't fucking see anything. I think you're overestimating your abilities here, babe."

He looks to his right at Chin and Kono. They follow Steve's actions too. They have their guns drawn, and they carry their backpacks, silently. They look pretty determined to follow their leader's instructions without any objections, hopefully without getting too involved in the already escalating quarrel. He can see immediately that they won't help his cause, here.

"Fuck, I hate this island" he sighs in resignation.

"Yeah" Steve murmurs under his breath "you said..."

()()()

It's about an hour later when they find themselves on the top of a big rocky ridge, with a big valley spreads in front of them. They stand on a mountain cliff, looking at the valley beneath them, the slope is so steep it's almost vertical. When they look carefully, they can see that there are a few trails carved in the ground, probably by centuries of running water and accumulating rain, they can see a few more trails that are easier to walk in, probably created by wild animals. There's the distant sound of running water, coming from below, it can't be seen under the bushes and the thick vegetation, but they suspect there's a river down there. The valley itself is big and it spreads to both sides, for as far as the eye can see.

They stand there together, catching their breaths after the strenuous walk in the woods, and try to figure out what's next. Steve looks around him hesitatingly between the deep slope at his feet, and the rest of the ridge on both sides. The ridge is rocky, he can't see footsteps anymore. The high vegetation along the slope and in the valley, makes it impossible to see anything without actually getting down there. He crosses his arms, and presses his lips together, it looks like they've just lost their targets' tracks.

"What do you think Steve?" Chin asks, coming to stand near him, as he watches the big forest that is spreading beneath them.

"I can't see anything in this terrain" he answers "they can be anywhere."

"They could have gone down" Chin says thoughtfully "and then we have to assume that they're moving quickly, towards the creek, possibly trying to get to a major road."

"I agree" Steve says "I estimate the way down will take them about 6 to 7 hours."

"At least" Chin nods "and than 5 to 6 hours going west, to the next major road."

"Well, that's one option..." Steve says carefully "the other one is that they went along the ridge, using the rocks to cover their tracks. In this case, they will still be moving to the west, looking for the tourist attractions on this side of the forest."

"That sounds reasonable, too" Chin agrees

"it's a longer ride, though" Kono joins in the conversation "I don't really know this part of the wood, but assuming they are headed towards the reservation, it will probably take them ten to twelve hours. At least."

"You're right." Steve nods, and the four of them just stand there on the edge of the ridge looking at the enormous forest around them.

"Where would you go?" Danny asks his partner at last, after nobody makes a sound "being the self appointed expert here, you probably have a preference."

"I'd remain on the ridge." Steve says decisively "it's a harder walk, but it's the less obvious option."

"What a shocker" Danny snorts "Chin?"

"I'd go down to the valley. Safer and quicker."

"I'd stay on the ridge, too." Kono chips in "they chose this part of the forest when they escaped, maybe there's a reason for that."

"I knew you'd take Rambo's side" Danny glares at her "I'm going to ignore you. Let's do what Chin says" he adds quickly when he sees Kono's furious expression "safer sounds good."

"OK" Steve says looking at Danny pointedly "we'll split up. Danny, Chin you go down the slope. When you get to the road, you'll probably have cell reception again. Try to intercept the other HPD forces that are surrounding the area. Kono, you're with me."

"_OK, boss_" the cousins say it unanimously, picking up their backpacks again, ready to do as they're ordered.

"Wait, Rambo-man" Danny shouts when Steve and Kono starts to make their way silently towards the west side of the ridge "there's no phones reception here, and you're going to no man's land."

"He's right, Steve" Chin calls too "you two should take my Sat Phone." He hands Kono the small black instrument and they all watch her secure it in her backpack.

"Take care of yourselves " Danny calls after them when they make their way carefully on the rocks.

"Don't worry, Danny" Kono's laughs "I won't let him do anything I wouldn't do."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, you crazy woman" he shouts back. It's a few seconds later when they can't see them anymore, but can still hear Kono's happy giggle.

They look at each other with apparent unease, and start the climb down.

()()()

They walk in silence for hours. It's a hard hike, on the rocky ground, and she finds herself fighting to find good footing and to keep up with Steve's unmerciful pace. She is not used to this kind of exercise, so it's tough, but she'll die before she'll let him sense that, or complain, or ask for a bit of rest. She's not Danny, after all.

He is very determined to find the three gun smugglers. Like he always is, when it comes to their job. Only this time, she suspects it has to do with the fact that these three, have escaped from their hands _twice_. First, during their initial raid on their warehouse in Oahu, and the second time when they were finally able to locate their stash, that was full of not only automatic weapon, but explosives and even three RPG missiles and launchers, too. They couldn't catch them there, though. They managed to escape in the nick of time, shooting at two police cars that chased them and wounding one cop pretty badly. They were only able to learn where they were after Steve was able to interrogate one of their associates, in a... in a _relatively creative_ but _quite thorough_ way. Yeah. She'd certainly seen Steve pissed off before, but these guys who were always three steps ahead of them were really able to press all his buttons. As soon as he learned about their escape route in the forest, he burst out of the interrogation room, ordered them to gather their gear, and refused to hear even a single word of resistance. He spent at least half an hour on the phone, persuading Duke to organize a full man hunt, but since HPD was _too slow_ in arranging a search party that can efficiently cover the forest... Well, he said slow, but she actually believes _twelve hours_ is pretty fast. Even impressive, if she's being honest. In Steve's impatient mind, though, it seemed to be unacceptable. As if Duke had just told him to wait for a few decades or something. He had the four of them in the forest immediately, without waiting another minute for the rest of the forces.

When she thinks about it, Danny's vocal concerns about the amount of lunacy Steve possessed while coming up with this plan, was pretty justified. The problem was not with his opinion, but with the way he chose to deliver it. The minute he started to complain about the mud, the dirt, the heat, the smells and even about the birds chirping above them, she found herself wishing that Steve will shoot him in the leg or something. Two more minutes, she would probably lose faith in Steve's leadership, and do it herself. He always takes so much time when it comes to shut Danny up. She honestly thinks Steve has no backbone when it comes to his partner. He lets the guy walk all over him, and always treats him so patiently and without fighting back. It allows Danny lash at him without any boundaries. It's really sad.

()()()

"Now that's interesting" he says suddenly, stopping in his tracks. She is still preoccupied with her thoughts, so she fails to notice the change of pace, and crashes into him, almost breaking her nose on his Navy issued backpack.

"What is?" she asks, rubbing her nose, and peeking from behind him.

"This is" he says thoughtfully looking at the big rope bridge that stretches in front of them. It's big and old, and at least half of the wooden boards are broken, or missing, or in some degree of decay. It stretches from their side of the valley, where it's hooked to the rocks by two big metal rings, and all the way to the other side of the valley, where it disappears in the thick vegetation.

"Wow" she says "it's... big..."

"Yup" he says, his eyes hooked to the amazing piece of construction "I would say it's about... 3,000-3,300ft long."

"Do you think..." she looks at him carefully.

"I don't know" he shrugs "I can't see any tracks on these rocks anyway... on the other side, though..."

"You think that on the other side there will be footprints."

"It looks like it gets straight into the forest, so yes. If they crossed here, I imagine we would be able to see their footprints."

"So... you wanna check it out..." she tries not to flinch as she makes a careful step forward and looks at the deep abbeys beneath her "it's awfully high, Steve..."

"A few miles" he nods.

"And the rope bridge itself... it looks old, and like it can barely resist gravity, not to mention..."

"Yup" he nods.

"If they crossed, and they were three, probably heavily armed, we can assume it's strong enough for at least one of us..."

"Yes" he nods, his arms crossed.

"And if they're not there, we'll see it immediately, because there'll be no footprints."

"Yes" he nods again, as he turns to look at her, and she really hopes the elevated level of panic she feels, doesn't show on her face.

"I should probably be the one to go" she suggests hesitatingly "because, obviously, I'm lighter than you..." she continues slowly under his pointed look "it will take me a few minutes to cross, and when I get there, I can take some photos of the ground, before I'm back and..." He only smiles at her reassuringly, as if he's not actually listening to her volunteering for this crazy stunt, "it's really high, Steve..." she says, looking down biting her lower lip.

"You can handle it, babe" he claps her shoulder happily "trust me, you'll love it. I actually envy you a little bit. It's probably beautiful from up there."

()()()

She takes off her backpack, and puts her cell phone that will serve as a camera in her pocket. She makes sure her gun is loaded, and secured in its holster on her hip. Then she takes position at the edge of the cliff.

"Take a hold on one side" he tells her when she stands between the two metal rings in front of the bridge "two hands on the rope, face to the side. Secure each hand separately, and move one of them at a time."

"OK" she nods "one hand at a time."

"Your hands are the key" he continues, looking straight into her eyes "if you lose your footing, you can still hold the rope."

"Hold the rope" she repeats, feeling encouraged by his determined and decisive words.

"You are very strong, Kono" he adds "trust your own strength, and you'll be fine."

She smiles at his simple compliment. He is not a big spender when it comes to compliments. Hell, half the time he doesn't even bother to acknowledge her work or her role on the team. He can see that she's scared though, can sense her lack of certainty, and her discomfort, and when he looks her in the eyes, and gives her his honest assessment of her abilities, she knows he is telling the truth.

()()()

She starts her slow walk on the rope bridge with a sense of impending doom. It's a long bridge, and every gust of wind makes it rock from side to side in the open air above the valley. She makes a terrible mistake, when she looks down for a second. The distant ground, the movements of the bridge, and her anxiety make the whole world come swirling around her suddenly, and she feels the cold sweat accumulating on her back. She takes a sharp breath of air, trying to resist the nausea, before she is able to make another step.

"You're doing great, Kono" he calls out to her "remember, face to the side, one hand at a time."

She makes her progress slowly, but she gains more and more confidence when Steve's instructions are proven to be correct. She is able to acquire a steady pace, and even to look around her, and realize the beauty of the scenery around her.

"It's beautiful" she shouts back towards him and she can hear him laugh with... _relief_? His unexpected laugh makes her look back at him, and she sees him shaking his head, and smiling broadly at her words. She realizes for the first time, he is even more stressed about her current position than she is. She knows him well enough to know that he finds it extremely difficult to send her along, and to be the one who remains there doing nothing. She feels better with this, reassured, and she almost makes a crucial mistake, when her leg tries to find footing on a rotten board, and she trips. She finds herself with both legs dangling in the air, as she holds herself on the bridge only by her arms.

"Jeez, Kono" he shouts and she can feel the bridge moves when he steps tentatively on it, trying to decide if to come for her help.

"I'm fine, stay there" she shouts, as she pulls herself up, using her strong arms. She finds a new board to support her left leg, and stands back on the bridge. "I'm fine" she sighs to herself, as she tries to even her breaths. When she looks back at him, she can see him exhaling sharply, looking paler than she ever thought he could look.

()()()

She continues her progress again. This time she makes sure to focus on the position of her legs, and not on the surroundings. She is doing well, avoiding the few gaps in the assembly of the boards, and holding tight to the rope. She moves in accordance with the gentle swinging of the bridge, adjusting her posture and her pace to the delicate movements. She's almost at half the distance, when she suddenly hears the sound.

It's a shrieking, screeching sound, like someone is trying to adjust the strings on a guitar. She stops and looks around her. She can sense a strange coiling movement along the length of the rope she is holding. Then, there's a big popping sound, followed by a loud sound that reminds her of a whipping sound. She knows that the bridge is giving in, even before she hears Steve's scream.

"_Run_" he shouts as he makes his way running towards her on the shaking bridge. "_Don't look back, run_!"

She does as he says, more as an instinct rather than from a full understanding of what he is planning to do. The bridge is still shrieking and shaking uncontrollably as she makes her way, running towards her initial objective, at the end of it. She can hear his footsteps as he runs behind her, making his way towards her in what must probably be the most insane thing he had ever done. She can see the end of the bridge, can see the leafs and the woods before her, can smell the dirt of the forest's ground, can imagine herself crashing on it's safety. She can almost taste it, when suddenly the ground is pulled from under her, and she feels herself falling down. The rope bridge had finally broken down. She scrambles to find a hold on the rope that is moving in front of her, towards the cliff. She barely manages to hold it, and when she does, her hands burn from the friction of the coarse material as she tries to capture it in the middle of her fall. She can't maintain her grip, it's too fast, she can't make it, she falls helplessly towards the abbeys. She is so surprised, she doesn't even remember to scream.

()()()

There's a strong arm that takes a hold of her suddenly. He is hanging on the remains of the rope bridge, using his right hand to secure himself to the rope, and his left arm to capture her, as she falls from above him. He stretches himself to grab her, and the action almost makes him lose his grip completely, so the both of them slide a few yards down the rope. He is able to recover his hold eventually, his legs find footing miraculously, and he is able to move her in between his body and the rocks. They are hanging there in the air, her hands around his shoulders, his arm holding her, securing her to his chest, as they wait for the swinging to stop.

()()()

"You OK?" he asks breathlessly, looking at her face in front of him.

"Yeah" she nods slightly "fine."

"You think you can make the climb?" he looks at her softly. It's unexpected in the circumstances, but she suspects he can still feel her body shaking in his arms, and he tries to make her relax.

"Yeees..." she nods unsurely at him.

"Don't worry" he laughs "I'm right under you, we'll go slow. If you'll fall I'll catch you. I promise."

"You'd better" she murmurs "Chin knows you're with me, if you don't, he'll use your testicles as baits on his next fishing trip."

"That's charming" he notifies her dryly "I'll catch you, babe. Or I'll die trying. Now let's go."

She climbs from between him and the wall. Her body is squeezed against him, as she moves upwards slowly. She feels his labored breathing on her face, on her neck, on her chest... sensing as his strong body covers all of her. She doesn't know what makes her body shake so much, the strain on the muscles, the adrenalin, the fright, or his touch.

()()()

She makes her way up, climbing the rope, and he does the same in a safe distance behind her. it takes them almost ten whole minutes to cover the remaining 1000ft that separate them from the head of the cliff.

She crashes on the ground exhaustingly, moving lightly to the right, to give him room. She is lying on her back, trying to catch her breath. He crashes beside her a few moments later, dropping his backpack that is still on his back, and was there the whole time. They lie there for a few minutes, breathing quietly, watching the sky and the trees above them.

"That was... intense..." he says eventually.

"Yeah" she laughs "thanks, brah" she turns her head towards him and looks at him seriously.

"Don't mention it" he dismisses.

"I'm serious" she tells him "there aren't a lot of people who would run towards a falling bridge for me."

"I'm serious, too" he tells her looking at her pointedly "don't mention it. Ever. Chin and Danny, if they hear about all this... they'd kill me on the spot."

()()()

They stand at the edge of the ridge assessing their situation. They have Steve's backpack with them, which is good, because he had most of the gear anyway. When she asks how come he was holding on to it, even when he was trying to run towards her, and the additional weight was obviously an issue, he looks at her like she's crazy and embarks on a lengthy and animated explanation about professionalism, code, soldiers' commitment to their gear and equipment... she almost sorry she asked. She makes a mental note not to mention his backpack ever again. His relationship with this military issued pieace of cloth seems a bit unhealthy. At best. She looks at the opposite side of the valley where they came from. Out there on the rocks, near the big metal rings, and next to what is left from the rope bridge, she can see her own backpack.

"I guess we're in a completely different situation now" she sighs, shaking her head.

"We'll be fine" he says to her, already preoccupied with conducting a full examination of their surroundings "look, Kono" he calls to her excitedly "I can see their footprints."

She goes and joins him, looking from behind him as he scans the area carefully, and points to her the quite apparent footprints of the three men.

"So... basically we're here, in the opposite side of the valley than where we were supposed to be, with no idea where we're going, with only half the food, no map, because obviously you only regard it as a recommendation so I was the one carrying it, we have no means of communication, as the Sat Phone was in my backpack, and just to spice things up a little, we have our three angry and might I add, heavily armed, villains here with us."

"Yeah" he looks at her scratching his head thoughtfully "that's about sums it up."

"That's awesome, Steve" she sighs, putting her hands on her hips "really."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Second chapter posted now. It's not going to be a long fic. 4-5 chapters, tops. I think.

Please tell me what you think.

* * *

They look at the footprints on the ground. The trail leads from where they are standing and straight into the forest. Steve examines it carefully. By the looks of these, he can see the three men are walking in a fast but steady pace. He watches the vegetation around him, by the way it reflects their suspects' movements, he realizes they are not even trying to cover their tracks. They feel confident. He can practically sense it from the careless way they move in. He concludes that they're not worried about being followed.

"How far ahead are they?" she asks when he's still crunched there on the ground, lost in thought.

"Less than a day" he drawls thoughtfuly "but probably more than 12 hours."

"So, I guess we can still catch them" she says encouragingly, looking straight into the deep forest "I mean, if we'll move fast enough, and keep walking through the night... we have flashlights..." she starts "well, we have one, anyway..."

He stands back up and smiles at her enthusiasm. The girl is unbelievable. She nearly died a few minutes ago, because of him, he might add. She lost all her gear, and by the way she carries herself, he can see that her hands are still raw from the rough contact with the rope, and that her whole body still hurts from the strain. He shakes his head in amazement, he'd seen well trained SEALs, and decorated Marines completely broken down after less than this.

"What?" she looks at him in wonder, seeing the strange way he looks at her.

"Hang on" he chuckles at her "let's try to be sensible here."

"Sensible?" she looks at him with surprise "that would be a first."

"Yeah..." he smiles at her innocent comeback "don't tell Danny, he'll never believe it. Look, It's going to be dark soon. We've been walking for hours. We need to rest. Let's get into the woods, find a secured spot, spend the night, and tomorrow morning we'll pick up the trail."

"Really?" she asks carefully, looking curiously into his eyes.

"Yes, really." he says determinedly.

"Thank god!" she exhales sharply, and shakes her head in relief. When he goes to pick up his gear, he tries to suppress his laughter.

()()()

They start to make their way into the forest, when she suddenly stops and turns around. She pulls out a small knife from a hidden compartment in her boot, cuts a small piece from the bottom of her red over shirt, and runs back to the remains of the bridge. He sees her hanging the fabric on the edge of the cliff, securing it with two heavy rocks, before she runs back towards him.

"Just in case Chin and Danny will be looking for us" she explains "a small indication that we've survived and they shouldn't waste time searching for our bodies deep in the valley."

"Good thinking" he mumbles when they start walking again "very good thinking."

()()()

It's getting darker and darker around them. They can hardly see anything when he finally finds a small indentation in the ground, surrounded by a few trees. He stops there, takes off his backpack, and sits down. She does the same, looking around her. It's a good spot, about twenty yards from their original trail. The low position allows them to remain unnoticed from a relatively close proximity, and it keeps them protected from the quiet wind that moves the trees above them. He pulls the backpack, and takes out a flash light, turns it on, and gives it to her.

"I hope you're hungry" he tells her, digging into the bag.

"Hungry doesn't even starts to cover it" she huffs "what do you have?"

"MREs obviously" he looks at her like she's being stupid. Well, maybe she is. She has to admit the first things that came to her mind when he mentioned food, were a big sirloin steak and a chocolate cake. She suddenly remembers Danny's rants about Steve's kitchen. She tried to dismiss it at the time, when the guy complained about the time he was house sitting for him, and happened to open the kitchen cupboards only to find 32 packs of MREs there. She thought he was exaggerating. When Steve pulls out a brown pack of US military issued MRE, she feels her heart sinking a little bit.

"You're kidding" she looks at the assembly of brown nylon bags he pulls out "it doesn't even look like food."

"It's really good" he says seriously "very nutritious. You'll love it, I swear."

She picks up one of the bags, and presses it with growing suspicion "Steve, it feels like powder."

"Well, I know. It's a brilliant invention, actually. Easily packed, light weight. It practically reshaped the basic layout of land warfare during the twentieth century." He smiles encouragingly at her when she looks dubiously at him, pulling out his knife and two plastic spoons. He takes out a plastic tube that looks like toothpaste, and she picks it up cautiously "it's blueberries jam and peanuts butter" he clarifies, seeing her suspecting look.

"Together?" she looks at him incredulously "why?!"

"We're in the middle of an operation, Kono" he says exasperatingly "we need the extra calories. This way it's packed efficiently together and..." he sees her horrified expression when she looks at the spread of completely reasonable and sensible food supply on the ground "well, what did you expect?" he asks with irritation "what the hell did you think we would eat?"

"I don't know" she frowns at his angry tone "you're the Rambo person around here, I thought... I thought that you'd hunt something, and we'll cook it over a fire."

"A fire?" he raises his voice a little bit "in the middle of the woods, in the middle of a chase? you can't be serious."

"A laminated unidentified powder, and concentrated calories in a plastic paste container?" she glares at him furiously "you can't be serious either..."

There's a few minutes when they look at each other challengingly in the dark. The flashlight she's holding is the only source of light and it illuminates their features in a strange way that makes it difficult for her to read his eyes. Finally, he bows his head, breathes deeply and looks back up at her.

"Look" he says calmly "let's try it out tonight. If you don't like it, tomorrow we'll figure out something else."

"Fine" she says quietly. "I'm sorry" she adds after a while "when I'm hungry I lose my patience very easily."

"I know" he mumbles under his breath "that's why we keep the frozen Loco moco in HQ, 24/7."

"What?" she looks at him in surprise "... you mean that green tapper wear box in the freezer? "

"Yeah" he nods, as he goes back to take care of the food "and Danny is in charge of keeping nachos and Oreos in his office at all times, too."

"Really?" she smiles at him "he keeps them for me?"

"Of course" he shrugs "I make sure it still there every month, when I do the inventory count. It's on the supply checklist under K, I thought you've seen it."

"Emmm..." she sighs.

"What?" he looks at her apprehensively "please don't tell me you're upset about it..."

"No" she shakes her head quickly "not at all. I'm only thinking about... the nachos."

()()()

He puts the bags into the FRH, and adds a few drops of water to the specific opening in the top of the apparatus. It makes a quiet hissing sound, and she can see it inflates slowly. In about ten minutes, it's all ready, and he only has to cut the tops off, to reveal the heated food. He hands her one of the heated MRE containers, and a plastic spoon, and watches her with anticipation. They sit on the ground facing each other, as she pulls out a spoon with some of the unidentified substance and tastes it carefully. He follows her face almost anxiously, under the limited light of the flashlight between them. It's... interesting.

"Beef Ravioli" she cries suddenly, sending him an amused look.

"It's my favorite..." he explains "I hope it's OK."

"It's really weird" she says shaking her head "but yeah, brah. It's good..."

He exhales sharply, and she swears she can hear him mumbling something quietly, under his breath. Then he digs into his own bag, too. They eat the food together, and he shows her how to mix the powdered strawberry juice with some water, before gulping it straight from the square bag. He offers her some dry crackers, and laughs at the way she tries to spread the brownish-purple paste on it, grabbing it from her hand, and squeezes it straight into his mouth.

"That's disgusting" she tells him when he pushes a few crackers to his mouth as well, but she does the same thing anyway, just to see what's it's all about. "Wow, it's... awesome" she groans with her mouth full, as the sweet paste combined with the dry crackers sends delicious sensations to her taste buds around her mouth. He practically has to force it out of her hand, eventually, so there would still be left some for him.

They keep eating, happily, and talk about food. They compare coco puffs bakeries around the island, and he tells her about the one his mother loved when he was young, and how she used to take him and Mary Ann there, every time his father was on duty, so they could bring him treats when they went to visit him on the job. She tells him about her mother's cooking skills, and about the secret recipes that goes from generation to generation in her family, and he asks her if she cooks, and she has to admit that she doesn't. She couldn't make a decent omelet, to save her life, actually. He says _he_ cooks, and he says he'll teach her one day, and that's it's a really easy and fun thing to do, but she declines, laughing at her complete cluelessness around the kitchen and insists that her expertise lies in eating, and not in preparing the food. He actually loves to cook, but explains that he rarely has the reason to do so, and she should _come over_, _often_, so he can _cook for her_, and he is very serious and adamant about it, when he says it, and she can't find any sensible response to his suggestion, so they just sit there, looking at each other, feeling a bit weird.

()()()

"We should go to sleep" he says eventually, after they sit there awkwardly, in front of each other.

"Yeah..." she says quickly "it's late, we really should."

He picks up all the bags and folds them carefully, pushing them back to his backpack, and pulls out a sleeping bag.

"I guess one of us should keep watch" she says off-handedly "I can start."

"I don't think so" he says simply "no one will come from behind us, with the collapsed rope bridge and all. Our targets are not even aware they are being followed, and are far enough than to make a real threat. We'll have to cover a lot of distance tomorrow. We both need our sleep."

"Yes" she nods in understanding. He really makes a lot of sense "but... we only have one sleeping bag, so unless we take turns..."

"Turns?" he looks at her in confusion "why can't we sleep together? the forest's soil with some carefully placed vegetation and our over shirts can make a perfectly comfortable surface, and the open sleeping bag will be an excellent cover. "

"I don't think so, Steve" she looks at him hesitatingly, smiling sheepishly at him.

"Why not?" he looks curiously at the sleeping bag.

"Well..." she crosses her arms on her chest "I can think of a few reasons..."

"Go on..." he sounds interested. She starts to suspect that he really has no idea what she's talking about.

"Steve" she says a little short tempered "I can't sleep with you."

"Why not?" he asks again, innocently.

"Because... you're my boss, and I'm... it's weird... and I don't think Catherine will like it..."

"Catherine?" he looks at her genuinely surprised "what the hell does she has to do with it?"

"Well" she says patiently "she's your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend" he says automatically.

"Of course she is, don't be ridiculous" she spits at him with growing irritation.

"She's not" he says decisively "I don't know where all of you come up with..."

"Claiming on and on that she's not your girlfriend, does not make her not your girlfriend" she says animatedly, repeating unknowingly Danny's words from a few weeks ago, during a similar discussion "here, I can prove it to you" she says helpfully.

"OK, let's hear it" he says challengingly.

"Do you meet with her every Friday night? or every Saturday night for that matter?"

"No. We usually work during the weekends. You know that we do."

"Fine" she grumbles "if we're not working, then."

"It depends" he says with a shrug "I do other stuff, too."

"Fine" she tries not to roll her eyes, but fails "let's assume that you do have something else to do, do you clear it with her first? before you make your weekend arrangements?"

"No" he looks at her incredulously "I don't clear anything with anyone. Why should I... well, I sometimes clear things with Danny. I forgot that we were supposed to go to one of Grace's school plays once, and he kept shouting at me for almost two weeks, it's safer to clear things with him, so..."

"Fine, whatever" she shakes her head desperately. She remembers precisely what he's talking about. Danny made all their lives a living hell after that miserable misunderstanding "when you have something that bothers you, when you need to talk to someone, about a difficult case, about your mother, Mary Ann... you talk to her, right?"

"To Catherine?" he looks strangely at her "no, no... we don't... no. I actually don't... you know... about stuff like that. I can handle things pretty well on my own." he says decisively. She arches her eyebrow at his last declaration "well, maybe I talk to Danny... sometimes. But only because he drives me crazy with all his questions, and keeps telling me that partners should talk about everything, and mentions thins like _emotional openness_ and all this other crap..."

"Right" she says carefully. Honestly, she had never seen such a poor pairing as Steve and Danny, it's a miracle after three years together, they only managed to shoot at each other once. "Let me ask you this then" she continues to other subjects "does she leave things at your house? a toothbrush, a hair brush, shoes, underwear..."

"She has some underwear, yes" he says honestly "and a toothbrush I gave her. But it's only for... it's easier when the night ends in my place. When my mother is out, mostly. Which never really happens anymore, if I think about it." She has to admit, except for proving they are having sex occasionally, she didn't actually make a real case yet.

"I know" she says triumphantly "do you have tampons in your house?"

"What?" he looks at her surprised "of course not. I mean... what would be the point?"

She looks at him silently, assessing everything he tells her. She knows him, he never lies. Doesn't have the physical or emotional capability. He's dense, and clueless, and has no understanding of women whatsoever, but in his own way, he's actually being honest.

"I guess, she's really not your girlfriend, then" she says with amazement.

"I told you" he says relieved.

"You know, Steve...?" she says thoughtfully "I think actually Danny is."

()()()

He hands her his toiletries bag, and she searches inside it. He has a nice kit of a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant and a first aid kit.

"No razor?" she asks him, curiously.

"I'm Rambo, remember?" he laughs at her "I shave with my knife, like a real badass."

"Really?" she asks innocently, the mere image of him standing bare chested, moving his big knife on his face, makes her mouth dry with unexpected need.

"No" he smiles "of course not, I'm not shaving during a job."

He gives her the water canteen and she goes behind the trees, to take care of her basic needs and to brush her teeth with his toothbrush. When she's back, he'd already fixed everything up, as she sees a carefully arranged soil mound, covered with leafs and Steve's over shirt. He takes the canteen and the toiletries, and goes beyond the tree line for a few minutes, coming back to find her sitting awkwardly near their makeshift bed.

He only chuckles a little, before he takes off his shoes, and socks. She has nothing better to do, so she does the same. He gets under the sleeping bag, and turns on his right side. He keeps the sleeping bag elevated, allowing her to silently crawl under it beside him. She turns away from him, onto her right side, too. Making a conscious effort to diminish the physical contact between them, and by that, any possible, or rather, unavoidable physical response she might have to him. He smells like the forest around them, and like soap, and just a little, like sweat. She holds her breath, when she feels how he pulls her tightly against him, his arm goes over her shoulder, to cover her with the sleeping bag. He slides his right elbow under her head, his arm bent back under his own head, too. When she lets go finally, and rests her head silently on the ground, she realizes what he's doing, trying to support both their heads on his arm. She automatically raises her head, trying not to cause him too much discomfort.

"It's OK" he whispers when he feels her muscles tighten, and the lifting of her head "I need you to sleep. Try to relax, and to feel comfortable."

She tries. She really does, but her heart is beating so fast, she feels dizzy. The noise of her pulse rushing through her vessels is so loud, there's no way he doesn't notice it. She feels his left arm encircles her body. His breath tickles the back of her neck.

"You know, Steve..." she says quietly after a few minutes, when she feels herself starting to relax, with his warmth all around her.

"Mmmm...?" he murmurs quietly.

"Maybe _we_ all know Catherine is not you girlfriend... but I don't think _she_ does..."

He doesn't answer, and after a few moments she feels her eyelids getting heavier. She breathes long and deep, gradually sinking into his body. She falls asleep almost immediately.

()()()

He wakes up as the first rays of sunshine roam over his face. There's a slow chilly wind that plays with his hair, and the birds are chirping all around him. It helps him to remember where he is, even before he opens his eyes. He feels warm and deliciously cozy, even though his whole body is tensed and painful from lying on the ground all night. His right hand under his head hurts the most. He opens his eyes slowly, blinking away the light, and bends his head to see her sprawled against him. During the night, she turned around to face him, her body looking for extra warmth, no doubt. she lies buried in his chest, her right hand gripping his tee shirt tightly, as she's wearing the sweetest, loveliest expression on her sleeping face. He moves his left arm slowly, raising it from around her delicate shoulders, to move the hair away from her face. He leans over to smell her head, it smells like the ocean, and like the forest's dirt. He looks around him carefully. The backpack is there, nothing had changed. He glances at his wrist watch, it's five in the morning.

His body aches so much, he simply _has_ to move, at least a little. When he does, he can't help the strangled sigh of relief that escapes his mouth. He hold his breath, when he feels her stir, and rubbing her face in his chest, fighting to stay asleep. She loses the battle eventually, under his curious eyes. She breathes deeply, makes this delicate groaning sound, and stretches her long limbs around him, before she finally opens her eyes.

It's morning. He's a young healthy man, and it's really has nothing to do with the fact that she's the most beautiful woman he has ever had the pleasure of waking up next to. When she moves her long leg inside the sleeping bag, accidently rubbing her thigh against that specific part of his anatomy, she wakes up immediately.

"Oh" she gasps in surprise.

"I'm sorry" he says quickly "it's not what... it's really has nothing to..."

"It's fine" she says quickly, blushing to the roots of her hair "I know how it works..."

He looks into her eyes, and she looks back. They are still held tightly together, and he can feel his eyes travelling down to her partially opened lips. He makes an almost unnoticeable movement towards her, his left arm tightens for a second around her neck, before she pushes sharply away from him, and saves them the embarrassment.

She disentangles herself from his arms, jumps out of the sleeping bag, grabs her socks and shoes, and runs away to clean up and brush her teeth.

()()()

When she's back he's already packed. He wears his shoes again, and he takes the canteen and the toiletries bag, and excuses himself quietly.

They make sure they leave nothing behind, before they go back to the trail. They continue to follow the footprints, the same as they did yesterday, without saying a single word to one another.

It's twenty minutes later, when she stops suddenly and says "say something, please."

"Say what?" he turns anxiously towards her.

"I don't know" she cries desperately "but... it's so awkward. I can't stand it. I told you we shouldn't sleep together."

"What do you want me to do?" he looks at her with confusion.

"I want you to save us from this stupid situation. We'll be walking like this for at least one more day... I can't..."

"Don't tell Danny" he says suddenly.

"What?"

"Don't tell Danny. About the Catherine discussion, and the sleeping together, and the morning's... ehhmmm... reaction..."

"OK" she says amusingly "I won't." He exhales in relief, and turns around to continue the hike, when he suddenly hears her laugh loudly, and running towards him. She jumps against him from behind, pinching him on his waist making him gasp in surprise "it's getting pretty long..." she laughs at him when he looks at her bemused "the not telling Danny list, I mean."

"Yes it is" he shakes his head in self contempt "let's try to keep it as short as possible, shall we?"

"OK" she smiles brightly "but I have the feeling, it's going to be the most dishonest debriefing in the history of the team..."

* * *

MRE - Meal, Ready-to-Eat

FRH - Flameless ration heater


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: A word about the MREs. Yes, I did try it. More than a few times. Unfortunately. And not even the new sophisticated and quite tasty stuff I had Steve feed Kono, I had the old rubbish ones... anyway, back to the Jungle adventure. Hope you'll like it.

Please tell me what you think.

* * *

"Anything?"

"No, it's disconnected. I've been trying it repeatedly for almost two hours. Nothing."

"Malfunction?"

"I doubt it, I had it checked three weeks ago. Battery was full. I have no idea why they don't answer."

"So... we both know they took the longer route..." Danny says, rubbing his face tiredly "we really shouldn't be surprised that it's been taking them so long."

"You're right" Chin says "they were walking for hours, probably had to make a stop for the night... it's completely logical."

"Yes, precisely" Danny looks back at the mountains behind them "and It's a big forest."

"Yes" Chin looks at the green wilderness, too "a very big forest."

()()()

"Are we going down?" she asks when she looks back and notices the way the forest stretches behind them in a new angle.

"Yes" he answers "it looks like we've been walking down a slope for an hour now, maybe two."

"Hmmm" she mumbles "we're climbing down the mountain. That's good, right? Especially when the trail is still easy to follow."

"Yes" he nods in agreement "we're still in the right track."

"OK" she goes back to what they were talking about in the last half hour "so, you think she is hiding something?"

"Yes" he looks at her seriously "you see? she spent the first few weeks looking carefully all around the house. At first, I thought she was trying to feel at home again. I mean, it's been twenty one years, I'm sure she has memories, I thought she just needs some time to..."

"Reconnect?"

"Yes" he looks at her with amusement "to reconnect. But then, as time went by, she just didn't stop."

"Didn't stop looking?" she looks at him curiously "what did she do? did she check in your closet? your drawers?"

"First, she went over my father stuff, went through his entire study, then she looked under the sink in the kitchen, I'm telling you she even checked under the floor boards. Hey look out" he grabs her hand quickly when she almost loses her balance, as they continue their descent on the slippery ground.

"Thanks" she smiles gratefully, standing upright again, "I'm fine" he never lets go of her hand though, as they continue to walk "what do you think she was looking for?" she asks.

"I don't know" he shakes his head "maybe it's nothing, and I'm just being paranoid."

"You know" she smiles at him, as they walk side by side, still holding hands without even noticing "you could just ask her..."

"Ask her?" he looks at her, smiling back "no, I don't think so."

"Why not?" she asks with surprise "you're living together, she's your mother, it's a reasonable question, and if she _does_ have something to hide... well, at least you'll know."

"She will never tell me. You don't know her" he insists "she's a trained CIA operative. She lived undercover for years. Hell, half the time I wonder if the whole..." he stops suddenly and takes a deep breath, as they continue to walk silently, for a while.

"Sometimes you wonder if her whole life with you, was actually a cover story" she says quietly. It's not even a question. When she looks up at him, she can see a gray shadow covering his usually bright blue eyes. "It doesn't matter" she adds after a few more minutes when he's still silent beside her "she's your mother, you're her son, it's as real as it gets."

He stops in his tracks, and turns towards her, and she looks at him, because it looks like there's something burning inside him that he really wants to say. He doesn't. He just squeezes her hand in his big palm, and pulls her again after the footprints.

()()()

"Maybe she said something to Mary Ann..." Kono starts again, when he suddenly pulls her against him, and puts his hand on her mouth. When she sends a questioning look towards him, he just signals to her to stay quiet, as they both collapse to the ground.

"What?" she whispers anxiously when he lets her mouth go eventually, but still remains focused on their surroundings.

"I don't know..." he whispers back "but I can hear... some... A hog!" he shouts "get up, it's a feral hog, run."

"A pig?" she calls behind him as they run between the trees "it's just a pig?!"

"They normally stay away from people" he shouts back "but this one... she must have little piglets she's protecting. They can be quite dangerous when they're mad... shit there she is."

She looks back to where he's looking, there's a big black creature, running after them puffing and hissing and snorting furiously. It's bigger than a large dog, and it looks determined to make their acquaintance. She feels Steve's forceful pull on her hand, as he's forcing her to move in front of him when the angry creature starts to close in on them.

"Climb the tree" he orders "I'll give you a push, just hold on to the branches" when they reach a large tree, he just stops and lifts her long slender body, and she grabs a tree branch and pulls herself up. It takes only a few seconds, but it's enough. Not a moment before he makes sure she's secured on the tree above him, the big black angry hog rams into him, and he collapses on the ground.

He tries to fight it, and keep his ground against its constant shoves, but the crazed hog rams repeatedly into his left flank, making him hiss with pain. The fucking pig is so heavy, and furious, and Steve is already crushed under him, when he somehow manages to take a hold of one of his big teeth. He tries to tip him over, but the beast is too heavy. He can't keep it for much longer.

"Shoot it" he shouts from under the smelly, shrieking pig.

"What?"

"Shoot it Kono, I can't fight it."

"I'm not gonna shoot her" she shouts back incredulously "you said she had babies. Can't you try a little harder?"

"Kono" he sounds furious "_I_ want to have babies too, someday, but I can't do it if I'm dead. Shoot it, for god's sakes."

"You're being difficult" she notifies him as she jumps off the tree, and runs towards them pulling her gun. She takes a shot, shooting one inch away from the territorial, crazy and quite determined hog. It's enough to make the wild beast reconsider her chances, to make a high pitch howling sound, that has more than just a hint of disappointment in it, to turn around and to run off.

"Thank you" he breathes angrily at her from the ground beneath her, as she extends her hand to help him up.

"You're welcome" she nods "I really hope she'll find her babies, after you made me scare her off like this. Are you hurt?" she asks when he's standing again, he only raises his left arm, and they both look under his shirt. He has a rude pink bruise there, but the skin looks intact. "I think you'll survive" she smiles at his pouting face "tell you what, I'll carry the gear for a while. Let you heal a little..."

"It's fine" he grumbles "and besides, it's way too heavy for you."

"Is this like a pride thing, now?" she asks curiously "because I really think it's my turn anyway..."

"Fine" he gives up "you can carry it for a while, it's actually very nice of you."

"It's my pleasure" she smiles with great satisfaction "after all, you've already cooked me dinner."

()()()

"Ehmmm... Kono" he says ten minutes later, when they're back on the trail again.

"Yes?"

"About that whole hog incident..."

"You want me to add it to the list, don't you?" she looks at him with a smile.

"Well, yes" he says sheepishly "if you don't mind."

"Sorry" she says decisively "I don't think so."

"Excuse me?" he looks at her startled.

"You seriously suggest that I won't tell Danny about how you almost got yourself killed by a _lady pig_? especially when_ I_ was the one saving your ass? no, no I'm sorry Steve, this one will be priceless, I simply can't, in clear conscience... "

"It was a _feral hog_" he reminds her with annoyance.

"You can call her however you want, babe" she smiles enticingly at him "in my story to Danny I'm going to call her _miss piggy_."

"Please, Kono" he begs shamelessly "I'll do anything..."

"Anything?" she looks at him carefully.

"Anything" he smiles broadly at her.

"Fine" she grumbles finally. She could never resist this smile, it's a waste of time trying "I'll tell you what, find me a way to take a shower in this fucking wilderness, and I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Deal" he cries immediately as he leans in and kisses her on the cheek "thanks, babe."

He keeps walking down the path, and she's doing the same, a few steps behind him. She can't help but think to herself that his small simple gesture, combined with his ocean blue eyes, shouldn't actually affect her so much.

()()()

They stand near the police cars at the temporary command of operations, going over the maps of the scanned area. There's no sign of their two friends anywhere, no signs of their targets either.

Duke had done his part meticulously, every area is carefully covered, and he makes a thorough debriefing with each of the search teams. As the hours go by, though, and there's still no sign, things are looking grimmer and grimmer.

"We didn't find them" Danny says.

"No, we didn't"

"We've scanned the creek, Duke had the east side, and we have two teams going through the reservation. There's no sign of them anywhere."

"No" Chin nods "not yet."

"Only place we didn't look is the area Steve and Kono were supposed to cover, but they were supposed to be intercepted by the teams on the reservation. "

"I agree" Chin looks at him worriedly.

"Best case, they are just having fun there, in the jungle, taking they're bloody time. Worst case, they actually found them, and things got messy. They are both courageous, and talented, but it's still only the two of them, against three."

"Well, they're together there, in how much trouble can they actually be?" Chin tries to sound confident, the look of pure mortification on Danny's face brings him back to his senses "I guess you're right, it's like a train accident waiting to happen."

"We have to go find them" Danny says it plainly "let HPD deal with the search of the smugglers. We'll go."

"Only way there, is by foot, Danny." Chin reminds him "and it's at least a day and a half walk."

"We'll go from the west" he says, pointing at the map "we'll try to intercept them from the other side, this should save us time." Chin only smiles kindly at his partner's suggestion "what?" Danny asks "what's so funny?"

"Nothing" Chin shrugs "only you, easily volunteering to go back into the jungle, to find Steve."

"Yeah, man" Danny sighs "what can I tell you, the crazy SEAL and I, it must be true love after all."

()()()

They stop for a late lunch, despite the fact that Steve keep telling her they need to hurry. She tries to explain that eating has its advantages, and that they actually skipped breakfast already, but he keeps looking at the sky with increased level of agitation, telling her their targets are walking faster than them, that they've already wasted time with the hog and all, and that it's going to be dark in less than five hours. She explains eventually that if they won't eat, they will be walking even slower, and it kind of makes him see sense. Anyway, she's the one carrying the backpack, so she just stops, pulls out the MREs, and he has to cooperate.

They finish the food, and rest a little, and he feels more relaxed, and takes the backpack again. They continue to walk in a better mood, and with higher energy, she was right, he's much more satisfied like this. It's a few hours later, when it's almost six in the evening, that the wind changes directions, and they suddenly hear it.

()()()

"Water" she cries suddenly "I can hear water."

"I know" he stops in his place "and the footprints are leading straight towards it."

He pulls out his gun, and she does the same, and they walk slowly, crouched behind the vegetation. They make their advance slowly and carefully, listening to any noise that might be out of place, watching for any strange movement ahead. It takes them a few more minutes to make the rest of the distance, until they find themselves standing at the edge of a deep blue, mirror like pool of water. They can see the sky again, but it has a distant soft haze that extends to the forest canopy behind them. When they look up, they can see the changing colors of the evening sun, and the light is reflected in the calm water, and paints the rocks around the pool with beautiful magical colors. When they look to their left, at the end of the pool, there is a big waterfall. The spray from the waterfall is cool and misty, and where it touches the pool, water ripples outward, distorting the reflections. The water gushes down in great force, it curtains down a rocky wall of abut 30-35 feet. It's so beautiful, and powerful, and secluded, they feel like they stepped into a fairytale.

Steve looks around him. On their right he can see the remains of a fire, and apparent evidence for their targets recent presence in this place.

"They spent the night here" he tells her, as he moves towards his new findings "it means that we're getting closer to them. They actually covered the same distance we covered today in... I would say... 4 hours longer than us. We're actually making progress. It's a long distance chase" he continues to explain "it's all a matter of endurance. We need to stay focused, and to keep our energy high. As long as they still walking in these mountains, we can still catch them. So... hey, are you listening to me?" he turns back when she's not responding "Kono, I'm talking t..." he stops when he sees her sitting on the ground to take off her boots "what are you doing?"

"I'm getting in, of course" she smiles, looking at the lake "how clever of you to bring us here."

"Wait, Kono..." he starts but stops immediately when she takes off her top and her pants, and is left in her bra and panties.

"What are you waiting for?" she laughs at him, as she walks slowly towards the lake "get in, before it gets dark."

He follows her almost naked body with his mouth half open, looks at the way the sun caresses her golden skin. She stops for a second, at the edge of the water, raises her head upwards to take a deep breath, and dives in.

There are a few magical seconds when he can see her long and lithe body moves under the almost transparent water, before she comes back up to the surface. Her eyes are bright, with their familiar lively sparkle. Her happy laugh is almost contagious. "Come on in, Steve. You don't know what you're missing" she calls. the pink sun from behind her, the sound of the water, her happy giggle make him drop his gear to the ground, take off his shoes and clothes to his boxers shorts, and to do as she asks.

()()()

"Oh my god, Steve, It's awesome" she smiles at him when they just linger together in the pool, after swimming and chasing each other in the water for about half an hour. The water is clean, and he tastes it to try to assess if they can renew their water supply from this piece of natural treasure. They actually can, it's clearly a natural spring.

"Well, it's not the ocean" he smiles back at her, when she tries to keep herself afloat, using a few strokes of her arms every few seconds. She looks beautiful when she's wet like this.

"No, it's not" she laughs "but it's still great. I'll use your soap later, and take my shower."

"It's a good idea" he agrees "and you're right, it's a really good place."

"Yeah" she bobs in the water again beside him. She moves her eyes around the pool, and on the rocks around them, then her eyes lie on the big waterfall at the base of the pool. She gets the idea almost the same moment as he does. When she looks back at him, she can see the familiar, slightly crazy, mischievous glint in his eyes "are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asks, not even surprised.

"I you're thinking about jumping from the head of the waterfall and into the pool, than yes, I am"

"Let's go" she laughs openly at him and follows his lead as he swims decisively towards the rocks. He climbs the rocky wall expertly, sending his hand for her, to help her up too.

They stand on the slippery rocks, looking down the angry flow of water. It's higher than she had estimated. She starts to think that maybe it's not the most responsible thing she can actually do... he, apparently, has no misgivings. he stands at the edge of the rock, his hands high above his head. For a second she has the time to observe his broad, chiseled, tall and muscular body... then, he jumps. He jumps head first, body straight, enters the pool sharply like a knife. Then he's gone, disappears under the water.

She can't see him for a few terrifying seconds, but then he's bursting through the waves, shaking his wet hair, and laughing with the thrill of his adrenalin rush "come on, babe" he calls out "it's great. Don't think about anything, just jump."

She jumps. Head first, heart beating, waves of adrenalin gushing through her veins. She gets a little disoriented, under the water, with the growing darkness, and the noise, and the strange feel of a non oceanic water around her. She still tries to assess the right direction up, when two strong arms hold her around her waist, and then she's out in the air, securely held by him, pressed against his bare chest.

"Wow" she gasps with the rush of it all.

"Yeah" he smiles towards her, stroking away the wet hair from her face "wow."

()()()

It's getting darker more and more every minute. Eventually they get out of the water and he goes to prepare dinner, while she goes to take her famous shower. He stands near his backpack, assessing the place, looking for the right place to spend the night. He looks back at the pool, and sees her standing there, near the quiet water, with the pink laced sky shimmering behind her. She is so beautiful, standing there, with her eyes closed, as her hand plays with her hair. He can't help it, he pulls out his phone and takes a picture of her standing there.

When she finally wakes up from her trans, he can too, turn towards his assignment. The dark is getting heavier around them, and it gives her the necessary privacy she needs. He tries to focus on preparing the food, and arranging a makeshift bed for the night, and to push away the fact that her naked body is soaking in the water, less than 20 yards from him.

She's back after ten minutes, all dressed again in her clothes. Her hair is all clean and shiny in the light of the flashlight, and she smells like his soap. He hands her the MREs, takes the soap from her hand, and goes to the pool to shower himself, as well.

It takes him less than ten minutes, obviously. He's back after three, all dressed and clean. She greets him with the prepared food, and indicates to a log she found for him to sit on. They eat in peace, the flashlight hanging between them. Their music is the noise from the waterfall, intermingled with the voices from the forest. It's easy. It's intimate. It's... It's good.

()()()

"The guys must be worried out of their minds" she says when they finish dinner.

"I guess so" he agrees.

"I bet when we finally get cell reception, your phone will explode with Danny's angry rants" she smiles.

"Yeah" he says thoughtfully "I guess your voice mail will be full with Adam's messages, ha?" he says looking at her pointedly.

"Possibly" she says quietly "look, how much food do we have left?"

"Hey" he sounds annoyed when she's changing the subject so abruptly "we can talk about Catherine, but we can't talk about your boyfriend?" she looks at him in alarm, he sounds angry suddenly, and it makes her feel unsure of what's going on.

"What's your problem" she asks in confusion.

"I don't have a problem" he tells her quickly "I just... I can't see what you see in him."

"He's a nice guy" she smiles in the dark "he's really good looking, and he has the most amazing home near the sea, excellent taste in wine and food, he's gentle and pleasant, and he likes music, and he brings me flowers , and little presents..." she smiles dreamily.

"Jeez, Kono" he mumbles "you must be bored out of your fucking mind."

"I'm not" she says a little too offended than for it to come across as completely inaccurate "besides, he keeps it quite interesting in the bedroom, so..."

"Good sex?" he looks at her disgusted.

"The best I've ever had" she assures him.

"Your young" he dismisses "inexperienced. You're probably..."

"I'm more experienced than you" she interjects.

"Excuse me?" he looks at her in alarm.

"You had what, one girlfriend in high school, one in basic training, had two one night stands during your time in Coronado, that left you feeling so guilty, you became the only sailor in Navy history who didn't hook up with girls in foreign ports. Then, you met Catherine in Annapolis, and kept her with you for the next eight years, just to be able to feign some weird non-committal, not-really-a-relationship kind of friends with benefits thing, that will be regarded decent enough for your hyperracitve conscience. Five partners? Really? believe me, I was way past you, even before I was legal."

"Wh... how did you..." he almost chokes to death at this quite exact account of his love life "fucking Danny, I knew I shouldn't tell him anything..."

"I'm sorry, Steve" she laughs at his obvious embarrassment "I can't see how he could ever keep this kind of information all to himself."

"Still" he insists "I'm going to fucking kill him" he rubs his face angrily "and for your information, it's not the number of partners that counts, it's actually the quality of the..."

"Oh, Adam has quality" she assures him, getting more and more defensive.

"He's a god damn criminal, Kono" he spits towards her, can't control his anger anymore.

"I knew it" she cries when he says it "I knew you'll bring it up. This is why I didn't want to talk about him. You're just like Chin."

"Like Chin?" he shouts back at her "for your information, I think Chin is actually being gentle. If it was up to me, I had you tied up somewhere, away from that bastard."

"What?" she looks at him in shock.

"You think Chin didn't come to me? didn't stand in my office and begged me to go and arrest the guy? to throw him in jail, and threaten his life until he stays away from you?"

"He did?" she whispers, overwhelmed.

"Damn right he did" he stands up and starts pacing around, kicking a random rock furiously "and I went with him. We stood at Adam's door, guns drawn in the dead of night, with full intention to drag his sorry ass to HQ, and force him to stay away from you."

"What happened?" she says quietly, sitting on the rock, hugging her shoulders with horror.

"We saw your car there. You were spending the night. We couldn't do it to you... we just... left." She looks at him from her position on the ground, and he shakes his head when her eyes shine at him with so much fear and pain. He looks back at the pool when he continues "I told Chin to go home. I went back to HQ, and put an official request to add Adam's name to homeland security records. Put him into the terrorists alerts system of the CIA, FBI and Interpol, too. I know people, you see? they owe me favors. I have him under surveillance now, if he makes a single mistake, a fucking parking ticket even, I'll get him for this."

"I can't believe you" she stands up, her voice filled with rage and hurt.

"He's a criminal, Kono. I can't believe you're buying his shit. He's a Yakuza member, he tried to kill me. Twice. He held a fucking gun to your face, for god's sakes. How can you let him treat you like this? How can you be with him when you know he'll protect his interests, and his family first, at your expense?"

"You have no right!" she screams now "Adam was the only one that was actually there for me when I almost died. You were up to your neck with Wo Fat and your mother, Chin was silently wishing I was dead instead of Malia, I was alone until he came... you had no right to do all these things. He will never hurt me, can't you see that?"

"He'll hurt you the minute you'll be in his way, Kono" he shouts back, fighting the urge to step over and shake her out of it.

"I'm your friend. I'm your team" she screams until her voice breaks "you trust me with your life, why can't you trust me, and leave me alone with this?"

"Trust you?" he shouts so hard, it's as if the whole forest shakes around them "leave you alone? I already left you alone once, with that mother fucker Fryer, and it almost got you killed. I'm not leaving you alone with any other asshole, ever again, I won't risk losing you... I won't!"

()()()

They stand in front of each other, throats sore, eyes burn, hearts beating fast with rage, and fear, and pain. The memories are mixed with the unspoken present, and it feels like there's nothing else left to say. He's the first one to finally move. He walks silently towards the sleeping bag, takes off his shoes, and crawls in. He positions himself the same as he did the night before, waiting for her to join him.

It takes her ten whole minutes before she is able to move again. When she does, she walks silently towards the sleeping bag, and gets in, in front of him. She lies as far from his body as she possibly can in the small confined space, and this time he doesn't reach for her with his left arm. It seems like he tries to avoid contact as desperately as she does.

The small shaking of her shoulders, the sniffling, and finally her quiet sobs, make him move at the end. He simply can't stay away from her anymore. He grabs her forcefully with his strong arm, and holds her tightly against his chest, engulfing her with his larger body.

"Please, Kono" he murmurs "please." He kisses her shoulder again and again. She keeps crying silently, and he keeps holding her, whispering her name tenderly, until they both fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Thank you all for the kind words and encouragements. You make everything fun and enjoyable. I am trying to respond individually, but not always able to do so. So, if I hadn't had the time, please accept my sincere thanks, now. **Lydia** - your sweet words are especially dear to me.

Special thanks to my darling **Christinaxa** who is not only a pure inspiration in general, and in this fic specifically, but also the only reason I'm not losing my mind over this awful season 3 that we're having. Her sweet and optimistic views, as well as her funny remarks and courageous previews of the more challenging episodes this season, are a true joy.

Please tell me what you think.

* * *

When he wakes up the next morning she is buried in his chest again. He is so grateful, he makes a silent decision not to move, even if it kills him. Her hand is holding his shirt tightly, and her head is tucked perfectly under his chin. Every breath she takes caresses the base of his neck and his upper chest, breaking his heart a little bit.

When the sun is high enough in the sky, and the light finds her closed eyelids, slowly abducting the sleep away from her, he closes his eyes quickly, trying to feign sleep and let her figure out her next move on her own. He tries to control his heart, when he waits silently for her movements. When she moves her head slowly away from his chest, he feels his throat tightens as he instantly craves her touch again. He feels so exposed suddenly, the place she occupied on his body is almost hurting with the new emptiness.

She opens her eyes, and all her senses are attacked by his presence. His scent, his touch, the beating of his heart and his quiet breathing under her ear. Her eyes sting a little, probably from the last night's crying. Her throat feels a bit raw. Actually, every nerve ending in her body feels raw.

She moves her head back slowly, to look at his face. He is sleeping soundly, and she has the rare opportunity to observe him without interruptions. He breathes deeply, his broad chest moves under her hand. His long eyelashes make weird little shadows on his cheekbones. He has a two day stubble, which makes him look young and reckless. She has to smile at this notion, if he would be more reckless than he is, it might actually be dangerous. She thinks about the last two days, it's already dangerous. In so many levels. Her eyes move to his strong neck, his chest, his broad shoulders. His left arm is draped lazily around her shoulders, the same as it was last night. His fingers are stretched, touching the ground behind her, effectively caging her in his arms. After always being the tallest girl around, she feels uncharacteristically small against his strong demanding body. She's surprised to discover it feels... good. She feels protected, and safe, and not alone anymore. She didn't feel like this in a very long time.

She moves her hand gently from his chest upwards, towards his face. Her fingers ghost over his lips, lingering there for a second only to move higher, above his cheek. She move them gently over his closed eyes and long eyelashes, trying to burn the image of his beautiful face with every sense she has. She can't help it anymore, as she throws all caution to the wind and moves her hand upwards to his temple and to his head. When she runs her fingers through his thick short brown hair, he wakes up.

His eyes are opened before she has the time to breathe. The look he sends her is so intense, and penetrating she gasps as her whole body lights up to his sudden suffocating presence. He moves his left hand from the ground to crash her against him, his lips finds hers immediately, as he shifts his weight on top of her, holding to her desperately.

To say that he kisses her doesn't even starts to describe it, he swallows her whole. He pins her down to the ground, his left leg between hers, his lips and tongue claiming her mouth with so much force and need, she feels like she's going to explode. She holds him against her with the same force, intensifying their contact by aligning her body to accommodate his position, her nails dig straight painful trails on his back under his shirt, as her leg comes to circle his thigh, pushing him against her pelvis. He is pushing against her with every move they make. He's kissing, sucking, as he moves his arm to caress her chest and abdomen, under her shirt. The silence around them is filled with their ragged breathing and the delicious sound of her moans.

It's when his mouth moves to paint burning trails on her jaw line, and down on her neck, and she whimpers uncontrollably with every wave of need he ignites in her, when he says her name, in awe and desire, that she finally realizes what they're doing.

"Steve" she mumbles, trying to regain control on the situation. He doesn't answer, his hand travels down on her abdomen, slow but demanding.

"Steve, look at me" she says decisively, moving her hands from his back and holding his head in front of her face. "Steve, it's crazy" she tells him when he finally looks her in the eyes "we shouldn't."

"No" he says at last, exhaling deeply, as he drops his head on her shoulder "we shouldn't."

He slides from on top of her, and moves to lie by her side, and they both lie there looking at the blue sky above them.

"Is it about Adam?" he asks quietly, his voice so empty and tired, she has to look at him with concern.

It _is_ about Adam, she says to herself, but when her eyes lay on his tormented face, and still heaving chest she knows it's only half true. It's about Adam, yes. She's supposed to be his girlfriend, and girlfriends don't sleep around with other people if they can avoid it, but... it's even more about _Steve_. She suddenly realizes this. She looks at him beside her, his blue eyes mirroring the pain, and guilt and regret he's feeling. She can't take this beautiful man, and use him as the 'other guy'. She can't force him to come second. He's a proud man, with very clear and simple moral code. The fact that he's willing to break it, only to be with her, consequences be damned, is the loudest declaration of love and devotion she could ever get from him.

He turns his head to look at her, and she feels like all the blood runs out of her face, as all of it occurs to her at once. He loves her, crazily, intensely, burningly... and she... she does, too.

She knows there's no way it's going to work if she'll let it start out as something wrong. She needs to clear things up first, needs to let Steve be Steve, and do the right thing.

"Steve I..." she starts, but the fleeting moment of enormous love and devotion she sensed from him is already drowned by his own reality check. She can practically see him slipping away from her, as he speaks.

"I'm sorry, Kono" he says quietly looking back up to the sky "I never wanted to hurt you. Never."

"I know, Steve" she says quietly looking at his tormented face, already doubting her decision to wait.

"I want you to be happy with him, I am. And I trust you, you know that I do" he adds, looking at her earnestly "I trust you with my life, with everything. It's..." he closes his eyes for a second, and sighs deeply "it's him that I don't trust."

They lie next to each other for a few long minutes, looking at each other's eyes in silence. Then he sits up, and goes to arrange everything for the rest of their way down the mountain.

The silence continues when they make their preparations. When they clear all the evidences of their being there. When they find the trail again, and when they walk down the path with him in the lead, like always.

"I bet you miss _yesterday's_ awkwardness, now..." he mocks her from behind his back, after a tensed hour of silence.

"Oh god, yes!" she cries, in despair from behind him. Then he hears her beautiful laugh, and he smiles.

()()()

They see her backpack almost at the same moment. They both start to run towards it with an overwhelming sense of dread. When they see the remains of the collapsed bridge hanging there on the rock, they look at each other with sheer panic. They look desperately down the cliff, half expecting to see their partners' bodies lying there on the ground. There's nothing, but there's so much vegetation, and it's way too high to see anything clearly, they both fear the worst.

"Jeez, brah" Chin mumbles brokenly "it's so high, they never had a chance..."

"Wait, wait" Danny says breathing deeply "there must be another explanation, I refuse to accept that..."

"Danny" Chin looks at him, holding his arm "they've obviously been here, we didn't find them anywhere else, we have a collapsed rope bridge here, that both you and I know for sure these two could never resist..."

"No, Chin" Danny shouts "no way. I know him, he will never make it that easy for me."

"Easy?" Chin looks at him like his crazy.

"I always warn him against all these lunatic stunts he pulls, I keep preaching him when he does something overwhelmingly stupid, _like climbing a fucking rope bridge_. He always finds a way to prove me wrong, the overzealous, careless, trouble magnet, bastard. There's no way he'll do something like that to make me look like I was right..."

"Danny, you're being ridiculous..." Chin shakes his head "they saw the bridge, it looked old and barely standing, so obviously they had to cross it, it's as simple as that... only..." he stops in his tracks, looking back at the scene in front of them "only... why would they cross, and leave Kono's gear behind?"

"Good point" Danny sounds intrigued "maybe... they thought it was too heavy?"

"But Steve's gear was heavier. They took his gear, and not hers? and besides, why leave the Sat-Phone behind? it makes no sense."

"Give me your binoculars" Danny cries suddenly. When Chin pulls out the small binoculars, he holds it up, and scans the other ridge "what was she wearing? do you remember?"

"Who, Kono?" Chin asks with confusion "I have no idea... how should I remember a thing like that?"

"You can't remember what your own cousin, and _your partner_ was wearing?" Danny looks incredulously at him "how can you not remember?"

"I don't know" Chin spits angrily "can _you_ remember what _Steve_ was wearing?"

"Of course" Danny looks at him with contempt "cargo pants and a blue shirt."

"I think you have a small advantage when it comes to Steve's wardrobe" Chin grumbles towards him "wait, let me think... I think she wore a red shirt and jeans."

"They got to the other side" Danny says, beaming towards him "look."

When Chin picks up the binoculars, and scans the other side of the valley he sees what Danny is talking about. On the highest point of the ridge, just next to the remains of the bridge he sees a beautiful red mark made of Kono's shirt.

"This is why we couldn't find them" Danny says "we were looking at the wrong mountain."

"You're right" Chin nods "all the search parties were focusing on the north side. They were moving south the whole time."

"We're at least one and a half day behind them" Danny mumbles "and I think it's safe to assume our targets are there with them, as we didn't find a trace of them either."

"You're right" Chin says thoughtfully "we need to call Duke, tell him to move the forces south as soon as he can."

"It's not enough" Danny shakes his head "it will take ages" he pulls out the Sat-Phone from Kono's backpack, and pulls out his phone and scrolls down the numbers.

"What are you doing?" Chin asks curiously, as he pulls the low frequency radio to call Duke.

"I'm calling Catherine."

()()()

They walk for hours. They stop for food for about half an hour, but it's all hurried and purposeful. They hardly talk, and when they do, they are so civil to one another, it's actually frightening. It feels like the whole experience turned into some kind of an official assignment, and they are forced to work as a team, and are working on a case together for the first time. Their real first time involved her in a bikini, and afterwards stripping to her underwear under his eyes, followed by him breaking into a warehouse, trying to save her butt when the bullets started to whistle around her too soon. She still remembers his impressed, and slightly curious look when he found her slamming her fist into a guy 100lb heavier than her, as well as the beers afterwards, with Danny and Chin in the middle of the new HQ constructions. During this two hours long mission all the official boundaries between the four of them were lowered forever, to find them proudly erected again now, is simply devastating. She can see how he looks at her from under his eyelids, when he's busy tucking all the empty MRE bags back into his backpack. He silently watches her every move. She thinks to herself, there's not a list in the world they can push this strong surge of emotions between them, that would keep Danny and Chin in the dark about what happened here.

()()()

The forest ends. Abruptly. They can see the tree line from where they're standing, and he signals her to stop as he draws out his gun. She does the same, and they make their progress quietly and carefully, crouching behind bushes and trees.

He watches from the safety of the forest, finding himself standing at the edge of a big exposed area. There's a small building in the middle of it, and a gray pickup truck parking next to it. They can't see people, but he can see their targets' tracks leading towards the building.

He goes to sit beside her as she leans against a tree, to try and think of a plan. They have to assume they are facing at least four people inside, their three suspects and at least another person who drove the truck.

"We have to look inside" he whispers "see what we're up against."

She pulls her phone out, it looks like there might be reception "wait, Steve" she says quietly "I'll try to call for help."

She dials Chin's number, but it's cut off almost immediately, he tries Danny's with the same result.

"Look" he says thinking "if they'll climb into this truck, we'd lose them. Our only chance is when they're still here."

"Steve, they are heavily armed, they are inside a building... it's..." she sees the familiar glint in his blue eyes, and smiles towards him "don't tell me, you already have a plan..."

He pulls out two grenades from his backpack. One is a smoke grenades, the other one a regular military issued, with high explosive capacity "first step, to block their escape route" he whispers "can you handle the car?"

"Yes" she nods decisively "I can cut the ignition or something."

"Perfect" he nods "I'll cover the house while you do that. Then, I'll throw the smoke grenade in, and as they run out, we'll shoot them."

"Steve" she looks horrified "I know Danny and Chin are not here, so obviously, the lunacy level would have to be pretty high, but as you might remember, they are all still suspects..."

"In the legs, smarty pants" he says in annoyance "shoot them in the legs. A sniper like you... I think you can manage to find their legs from a close range."

"Fine" she glares at him furiously "I'll shoot their legs. All fucking eight of them..."

()()()

They move silently towards the building. She follows his footsteps carefully, and as soon as he slams against the wall, under one of the windows, she makes the short run towards the truck. The vehicle is locked, so she takes off her over shirt and wraps it around a heavy stone she finds there, and crashes the window, trying to make it as quietly as she can. When the window breaks she opens the door, and crawls into the driver's seat, searching for the ignition cables under the steering wheel. She cuts them with the small knife she has hidden in her boot. When she finishes, she signals to him with her thumb, and prepares to move out of the truck.

He sees her satisfied grin, and moves his attention towards the building. He moves slowly, trying to look into the house through the window. It's a big room, and he can see a large table inside, covered with different weapons, and ammunition. He counts three men standing around it, arguing about something. He can recognize two from the sketches the other suspects gave them. He looks frantically around the room, there's no other door, there's no other exit. Only three men, where the fuck is the fourth one?

"Put your gun down, or I'll fucking shoot her" he gets his answer from behind him. When he turns around slowly, he sees a large man holding Kono in front of him, pointing a gun to her head "put the gun down, I said" the guy spits again. She only looks at him blankly, like she's not even there.

"Fine" Steve says quietly "calm down, I'm putting it away" he lowers the gun to the ground, and raises his hands. She looks at him intently, she can't see the grenades. Must has stashed them behind him, or in his pocket... this is getting interesting.

"Your knife too" he indicates towards his thigh holster, and Steve obliges slowly, without even arguing. "Makana, Mike, Ollie" he cries towards the building "come see what I found. She sees Steve looking at her, then moving his eyes to her boot, and then looking at the door.

"OK" she nods, making the man holding her, pull a little harder around her neck.

They hear hurried footsteps from within the building, moving towards the door when Steve shouts "now!"

()()()

It happens within a split second. She back kicks her abductor's knee under him, and slams a strong elbow into his solar plexus. When he's fighting to breathe, releasing her in the process, she take his gun away from him, and pulls out her knife, stubbing him in the foot, making him cry in pain. She raises the gun and sees Steve running with his own gun towards the building's door, shouting to her to duck. She does, just before a big explosion is sound from within the building. She figures he managed to throw the damn smoke grenade in, after all.

He stands against the door, pointing his gun towards it, when the three men pushing out of the burning smoke inside, he hits the first one with the butt of his gun, and kicks his head in. She shoots the second one in the leg, and Steve completes the job by kicking him in the head too. When the third one starts to shoot from inside the building, he has to take cover behind the heavy door, and he has time to turn around and watch her.

She is being dragged by the fucking bastard again. She was too busy focusing on supporting his breach, that she didn't notice the guy picking her gun from near the truck, where she dropped it, until he was already shoving it into her waist. He is still in pain, and he can hardly walk, but he leans on her and uses her body for cover, as well as for support.

He can only stand there, grounded to his position by the heavy shooting from inside, and watch them disappear back into the forest.

()()()

He pulls the real grenade now, he has no time to lose. He takes a deep breath, before he opens the door quickly, throws it in, and closes it back immediately. It takes three seconds before a loud explosion is heard, and after that, there's no more shooting. He takes a quick look at the two half conscious men on the ground beside him, decides they are not going anywhere, and runs after Kono and the fourth guy.

()()()

He can't find them anywhere. He screams her name in sheer panic. There's no movement between the trees, his instincts are all on high alert, but he can't see a fucking thing. He just stands there with his gun in his hand, scared out of his mind, looking around him frantically.

The guy is wounded, they couldn't have gone far. He tries to convince himself that he didn't actually hear any gunshot, but with the noise from the explosion... he can't be sure of anything anymore.

"Kono" he shouts at the top of his lungs "Kono, can you hear me?" Fucking nothing. He feels how his heart is sinking in his chest. He feels like the whole world is swirling around him.

()()()

Then he sees it. A piece of red thread wrapped around a tree. He scrambled towards it, recognizing immediately the fabric of her shirt. He looks at the ground, he can see blood splatters on the leaves, a broken flower, a bent shrub. He can follow their tracks again. His old hunting skills are running the show again, as he moves quickly and quietly, following the signs. He can see they still remain in the outskirts of the forest, probably because it's an easier walk. He moves with a beating heart, with hope, with fear, until he finds himself on the edge of a big hole in the ground.

()()()

There are two bodies at the bottom of the hole. The guy's head is crushed on a rock, bleeding. Kono is lying motionless beside him, her legs folded under her.

"Kono" he cries "Kono, babe, can you hear me?"

She moves slightly, groaning with pain. He releases a breath he wasn't aware he was holding, and jumps in.

"Hey" he whispers, when he picks her head up gently "are you OK?"

"Yeah" she murmurs in his arms "I saw the hole, so I pushed him, I thought if I land on top of him, then..."

"Good thinking, babe" he smiles in relief "although, if Danny was here, I bet he would've said you're even crazier than I am."

"It's a great honor, boss" she smiles tiredly "and now that you mention it... you think we can add this to the list?"

"Danny's list?" he laughs

"Yes" she nods seriously "and maybe we should make another one, you know, for Chin."

"Sure, babe" he nods in agreement. He can acually think about several other things that should go on Chin's list, too...

()()()

She hurt her fucking knee. Yes, the same knee. She landed badly when she fell down the hole. You know, because officially she goes with falling. Jumping simply sounds bad. In so many levels...

When he tries to help her out of the hole, he can't. She can hardly move, and the edges are slippery, and even he isn't strong enough for this exercise. He leaves her there, climbs out and runs to the building to find a rope, or a ladder or something. When he steps out of the forest, he sees Danny and Chin running towards him from Danny's car.

"Steve" they both shout in relief, as the area starts to fill with more and more police cars, and a helicopter is flying above them.

"Where is she?" Chin shouts over the noise of the sirens and the chopper. Steve only signals to them to follow him.

They find her in the hole, supporting herself on one leg and Steve jumps in again, picking her up and lifting her towards Chin and Danny who lies on their stomach with their arms reached towards her. They grab her, and pull her out swiftly, and before she knows it, she is already held in the tight embrace of her cousin. Danny reaches his hand to help Steve out too, and then the four of them are sitting there, on the ground, _together at last_.

()()()

Chin and Danny hug the both of them, and Danny smiles broadly, clapping Steve on the back. Then they make their way out of the forest and towards the cars.

"How did you find us?" Steve asks with confusion, watching Kono's swollen leg in horror as she's being carried by Chin slowly. He can't help feeling out of place suddenly, when Chin takes charge of her care.

"Catherine helped" Danny smiles "we found the kid's backpack near the place where you crossed the valley "I assume it was _your_ brilliant idea..." he glares at Steve.

"It was sort of a _joint decision_" Steve mumbles.

"You are a fucking liar" Danny notifies him "anyway, we were all looking for you on the other side of the valley before that. By the way, kid, nice touch with the signal."

"Thanks, Danny" she beams.

"We asked Catherine to use her resources, and look for you with the Navy equipment, while we made it to the other side, by car."

"Your phone sent us a signal" Chin adds "a few minutes ago, for a really short time. We were roaming the hills for hours, and when we picked it up on the computer, it helped."

"The main thing now is to take _you_ to the hospital, and to take the _bad guys_ to jail" Danny claps his hands in satisfaction looking at the both of them "we can talk about everything else later, after you'll have a shower, and change, and listen to all the messages I left on your phones."

()()()

They come out of the forest, and there's an ambulance there as well as several police cars. Duke is walking towards them smiling, and Steve meets him half way, shakes his hand and starts to explain the situation pointing at the building and the suspects who are already being arrested. In the mean time, Chin takes her to the bus, and gets the paramedic look at her leg. It's obvious she needs to go to the hospital, but they have so much to take care of on the scene, she makes Chin promise they'll finish everything there first, and come to see her there later.

She sits on the gurney when she sees Steve walking towards her, with a big smile on his face. Danny and Chin are next to the suspects, giving instructions and taking a look at the weapons. She smiles back at him. She really thought he would use this opportunity now that they're safe and back with their friends, to go back to the distanced way he was handling himself for so long, around her. Only... the blue eyes that looked at her in the hole, after he thought she was dead, told her things will never be the same between them. Never. They need to talk, they have to clear all the mess around them, well... _she has to,_ really. Adam is _her mess_ after all... she thinks to herself, she can actually do it now, because she _knows_ she has him... so when she sees him making his way towards her, she smiles...

Catherine is the one who runs from her blue and ridiculous car, calling his name. She crashes into him, holding him in her arms and kissing him in relief.

"I was so worried, I tried to call you" she says hurriedly "then Danny called and I realized... oh god Steve, are you OK?"

She hugs him again, and he hugs her back, buries his face in the crook of her neck, while Kono's gurney is loaded to the back of the bus, on its way to the hospital.

()()()

She makes the ride to the hospital in silence, feeling how the tears well in her eyes and roll down, on her cheeks. She opens her cell phone, and dials the code to the voicemail, and listens to all the messages there from the last two days. She can hear Chin's worried voice, Danny's rants, her mother, annoyed about something and then, Chin again. She hangs up the phone after she finishes listening to all twelve messages. There isn't a single one from Adam.

* * *

Ok, this one came out really long. Sorry about that... one more chapter till the end.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N1**: My thanks to all of you who read and followed and favored this fic. I specifically appreciate those of you who took the time to leave me some words and share their thoughts. I know that this is a trying time to McKono fans. Season three is a... let's say... a challenge. The way I see it, I'm here to have fun, so I can't let them ruin it for me, can I? I'll be writing for as long as it makes me happy. This is the reason we get into this website on the first place, right?

This is the last chapter of this fic. It's pretty long. Those of you who read my other stuff know that I find it very hard to write short pieces.

I hope you'll like the way this ends. Please tell me what you think.

R.

* * *

"Catherine" he whispers when she still holds him against her "Catherine wait, I need to..."

"I'm sorry" she smiles brightly at him as she moves back to look at his tired face "you probably still have a lot to do around here. I can wait for you if you want..."

"Catherine, I'm sorry" he says quietly "it's over."

she's looking at the teams working in the area around them when he says it, and for a minute there, he thinks maybe she didn't hear him. When she looks up at him with red rimmed eyes he knows that she did.

"I'm sorry Steve" she tries to continue her initial point "you must be very tired, and you definitely need to take a shower. You should finish what you have to do, and then we can..."

"Catherine" he says quietly, standing before her, with his head bowed down. His voice has enough intensity and seriousness in it to finally make her look at him with mild apprehension.

"Steve... what are you talking about...?" she starts unsurely.

"Catherine..."

"No" she shakes her head decisively "you don't know what you're saying. You had a rough couple of days, and it still isn't over, why don't you go wrap everything up, and I'll see you at your place, later?"

"I'm going to the hospital later" he says quietly "Catherine... I'm really sorry."

She stands there in the middle of the crime scene, tens of cops around her, looking at him standing there with grave expression. She knows exactly what he's doing. The thing that makes her crazy is the fact that she's not even surprised.

"You're kidding me" she whispers, her eyes fill with tears suddenly, and she doesn't know if they are tears of sadness or of rage "you're doing it here? now?"

"I'm sorry Cath" he says again "but I don't think there's a point in dragging it any longer."

"Am I right to understand that I have no say in this?" she asks, shaking her head and trying to control her voice. He doesn't answer, only looks steadily into her eyes. .

"It's my fault" he tells her finally "I couldn't give you what you wanted. I knew it, but I chose to ignore it and to just play along with whatever it is we were doing. I should never have let it go on for as long as it did."

"No" she sighs, looking at him seriously "we shouldn't have. Still, I can't believe you're doing it in front of all these people" she shakes her head in mortification "in front of Chin and Danny and K... oh..." she stops midsentence realizing finally what's going on "so that's what it is..."

"What?" he looks at her with confusion "what do you mean?"

"You stupid man" she spits in anger "I always knew you were damaged" she laughs bitterly, as a few small tears roll down her cheeks "and I was stupid too, thinking that you're ever going to wake up and decide that it's _me_ that you want to be with."

"You're not stupid" he says, sending a hand to touch her shoulder, but she shakes it away from her, and takes a step back.

"I thought we were having fun" she whispers "I thought you were happy with me."

"Cath..."

"I wasn't even an option, was I?"

"You were my friend" he says decisively "a really good and loyal friend. We went through a lot together."

"No we didn't" she says quietly, looking at his eyes seriously "not really. We were hovering around each other when things happened, but we faced each of them on our own."

"I'm so sorry, Cath" he says again, bowing his head.

"Yeah" she nods slowly "I'm sorry, too."

()()()

"Will you be OK?" he asks in concern as he walks her back to her car, a few minutes later.

"I'll be fine, Steve. I'm always fine" she smiles sadly "you on the other hand..."

"I'm OK" he dismisses.

"No, you're not" she interjects "I know you, remember? she's going to break your heart."

"So, you know?" he asks cautiously, as she's looking at him, exasperated.

"Of course I know. I know you, remember? fuck, Steve you're such an asshole, don't you know you're supposed to lie about falling in love with another woman, when you're in the middle of dumping someone?"

"I didn't want to hurt you, Cath" he says when they reach the car and she turns towards him "I really didn't."

"You know, Steve..." she says thoughtfully, looking behind him towards the tree line "it hurts, and I'm disappointed, but I can't help but thinking that if it was real, it would have hurt more..."

She opens the car door, and he puts one hand on the roof, as his other one is stroking her hair. Before she gets in, he pulls her towards him and hugs her tightly in his arms. When he lets her go she smiles, kisses him gently on his lips, then she moves her hand gently on his stubble covered cheek. "Goodbye, Steve" she whispers. Then she's gone.

()()()

She's half way through explaining everything to the resident in the emergency room, when a tall gray haired man enters the examination room with a sense of urgency. She looks at him, he is wearing scrubs, and a surgeon's cap, and he still has residues on his hands from recently worn latex gloves.

"Officer Kalakaua? I'm Dr. Lee" he introduces himself quickly with obvious annoyance, as he grubs the chart from the resident's hand "I just got a call from a certain Commander McGarrett, who was under the impression that you are going to die in the next couple of minutes."

"He called you?" she asks in alarm "oh, I'm so sorry. He has this tendency to go a little overboard sometimes." she tries not to flinch with this obvious understatement "did he threaten you, or..."

"Yes, he called me" Dr. Lee spits angrily "I was in the middle of an operation at the time, just so you'll know. Unfortunately, he was quite adamant about me leaving everything in the middle, and go to see you immediately."

"That was really uncalled for" she says apologetically "I'm sorry, he's my boss, you see..."

"You have my sincere condolences" he assures her "does he always take things so... personally?"

"Yes, he can be quite... demanding" she says carefully "and... obsessive, and a little intimidating... I'm sorry he dragged you in the middle of an operation, it was really insensitive and quite unnecessary."

"It's OK" Dr. Lee says, sounding a bit more relaxed. She always has this kind of influence on people "we were actually just finishing so... It's just that I'm the head of orthopedic surgery in this esteemed establishment, I'm not used to people addressing me like that."

"I bet you don't" she murmurs. She can practically Imagine the whole conversation.

"Oh well" Dr. Lee smiles tightly "no harm done. Now, how can I help you?"

She tells him about the fall. Yes, _the fall_. She's not in the habit of lying to medical professionals, but the guy is already pissed, thanks to her overbearing boss, so she tries to keep it as sane as possible. She describes her former injury, and tells about her operations, her rehabilitation, and her current physical routine before she lets him examine her red, swollen and painful knee.

"Your knee has gone through enough" he says after assessing her story and the physical findings "I think we should try to avoid invasive procedures as much as we can. We'll start with an MRI and some painkillers, and decide on the right approach after we have a good sense of what's going on. You think you can handle ordering an MRI?" he turns to the resident "I want it done today, as soon as possible, before her boss gets here and starts shooting people."

"Yes, Dr. Lee" she resident says quickly, with more than a hint of panic.

"Good" Dr. Lee says dryly standing up and walking to the door "I have a half opened pelvis in the operation room to attend to, officer Kalakaua, I'll see you later."

"Don't sweat it" she says to the resident "you heard what he said, comparing to my boss, Dr. Lee is no more than a cuddly kitten. You should do what I do, nod politely, say 'yes boss' a couple of times, and then go and do whatever the fuck you want..."

()()()

There're a couple of minutes after they bring her out of imaging and roll her back to the floor, that she finds herself on her own, and can finally call Adam. He picks up after the fifth ring, and she can hear a door closing in the background. He is walking out on something to talk to her. She suddenly wonders if he's doing it for her benefit, or for his own.

"Hi" he says warmly, and she can hear the smile behind his words "how are you?"

"Well..." she exhales sharply "actually I'm in the hospital..."

"What?" he sounds alarmed "what happened?"

"It's fine" she says quickly "don't worry. I was working a case. I fell, and I hurt my knee, I'm waiting for the MRI result. It might take a while."

"Is it serious, Kono?" he asks with concern "are you in pain?"

"The drugs help" she smiles "the doctor who saw me wasn't too worried, but we still need to wait and see."

"Oh, Kono" he says quietly "I'm really sorry you got hurt."

"I'll be fine, Adam... it's just..." she holds her breath in anticipation "can you come over?"

"To the hospital?" he asks slowly "Kono, I don't know... your whole team will be there... your cousin, your boss... it might get messy."

"Adam" she says harshly "they all know we're dating. It's hardly gonna be a surprise. I really need you to come here, I want to talk to you."

"Look, darling" he says patiently "you said you were fine, that it's probably nothing. Why don't I see you when you're out of there? I'll take you home with me, take care of you..."

She feels like her heart is sinking in her chest. Deep down inside she knew he wouldn't come. She was lost in the jungle for two whole days, and he didn't even notice she was missing. Now, when she's hurt and asking him to come to be with her in the fucking hospital, he refuses because it might be _awkward for him?_ She looks at the ceiling silently. If she had any hesitations or guilt associated with the fact that she's gonna end this the minute she sees him, they're all gone. Hell, she tried to be fair, and do it in person, but if he wants to play it like that, she'll have to do it over the phone.

"Adam" she starts, her voice strong and decisive "listen, we really need to talk" there are voices coming from behind him when she says it, and she hears him speaking to someone in Japanese.

"I'm sorry, Kono" he says hurriedly "I really have to go, I'll call you later, Ok?"

"Adam, wait..." she cries desperately. The line is dead before she has the time to say anything else.

()()()

She lies on the bed in the orthopedic floor with all three of them around her, looking at her leg worriedly.

"I'm fine" she promises "it's probably nothing, and the pain killers help, so..."

"I know you're fine, babe" Danny says reassuringly "it's not me you're trying to convince here, it's these two nervous wrecks beside me."

"Nervous wrecks?" she laughs.

"Yes" he nods seriously "Chin was downloading articles and YouTube videos of surgical procedures the entire ride over, and as far as 'Mr. death glare, I'm a fucking red button, don't try to push me' over there, _he_ refused to go home and take a shower until we take him to the hospital just so he can see that you're fine with his own bloody eyes . It's awful, babe, I know. They're both completely pathetic..."

"I'm fine" she promises to the two of them, in what she suspects to be the _seventeenth time_. She's looking at Chin when she says it, and trying awfully hard not to look at Steve. She feels over exposed, when he watches her like that, with his intense penetrating glare. She can see a gray shadow over his eyes every time he looks at her damaged leg that is stretched up on the bed, supported by pillows. She has no idea what's going on between them now, coming back from the jungle. She feels so sad, that she wasn't able to finish things with Adam, as soon as she hoped. She lies there on the bed, in front him, afraid that if she'd look at him, she won't be able to keep the emotions away from her face. So she tries to focus on the medical issues instead, and to swear to them, _again_, that she's fine. Steve and Chin both look at her like she's insulting their intelligence, obviously they've unanimously decided she's lying.

She looks at Danny with an exasperated look, he only shrugs like he's saying 'what can I do?" She rolls her eyes and lies back down on the pillows behind her. Fine, whatever, the hell with the both of them, maybe she should just roll over and die, so they can happily prove to her that she's wrong.

()()()

They're right in the middle of this fascinating discussion when Dr. Lee steps into the room. He takes a long look around the room, when his eyes stop on Steve's tall figure, he presses his lips together in irritation, when he sees him, and she horridly sees that Steve does the same.

"Officer Kalakaua, I have your MRI result" he starts, but his eyes still linger on Steve's disheveled appearance.

"Great" she says in what she hopes is a cheerful tone "so... any conclusions?"

"Conclusions, yes." he says, when she suddenly pulls him out from his transfixion with her boss like that. The fact that the three armed men in the room observe him with suspicion, probably doesn't help his attention deficit at this point. "Look, your friends..." he says slowly "maybe we should talk about this in private? maybe they can wait outside?"

There's a small hardly noticeable threatening step that both Steve and Chin take towards him when he says it, that makes her answer as quick as she can.

"No" she cries in alarm "you can talk with them in the room. Trust me" she says when he looks at her questioningly "it will be safer and much more time efficient this way."

He explains the findings. A small tear in the anterior cruciate ligament. It's similar to the severe injury she sustained in the past. The knee is stable, and there are good chances for a full recovery and definitely no need for surgery. It's basically, good news.

"So... can I go home?" she says smiling.

"Not yet" he shakes his head "I want to make sure that the swelling subsides before you leave. Also, I want physical therapy to see you tomorrow morning. If there's no substantial improvement by then, I would have to consider an arthroscopy for knee aspiration, but I really think it won't be necessary."

He pulls out his pen and scribbles something in her chart. "I'll see you tomorrow after physical therapy" he tells her before he turns towards the door "you all, need to go away now, and let her sleep. By the look of you, commander, you need to go to sleep, too."

Dr. Lee leaves after that. Chin who looks relieved, kisses her on her forehead before he goes outside to call her mother, kindly sparing her from the need to explain everything all over again. Danny squeezes her hand reassuringly, before he mumbles something about calling Grace to say goodnight, and disappears as well.

She looks at him from the bed when they are suddenly alone, for the first time since their jungle adventure. He looks back at her, moving towards the bed, but stops unsurely before he quite reaches it. his severe and brooding expression from earlier is gone, and he just stands there scratching his head.

"Kono, I..." he starts hesitatingly. The mere sound of his voice makes her heart beat faster, and makes her feel excited and thrilled and scared, all at the same time. She looks at him with hope, and he looks back almost... nervous... then her fucking phone starts to ring, practically jumping off the bedside table between them with the violent vibrations. When they both look down at the stupid apparatus, Adam's name appears on the screen.

()()()

When Danny steps outside to the car, he finds him kicking a bicycle rack in pure hate and frustration. The metal rods almost bend from the strong blows. He stands there for a few minutes, assessing this not entirely unprecedented demonstration of rage on the part of his partner. It's a fucking miracle, but he actually manages to stay silent during the whole thing.

When Steve finally finishes, and turns around to see Danny leaning against the car, he just shakes his head silently, his jaw twitches and his hands are formed into fists.

"Come on, babe" Danny says quietly "get in the car, it's been a long day, I'll take you home."

()()()

He spends an hour in the ocean trying to swim his anger away, than he goes back to the house and gets in the shower. He tries to surrender to the hot current around him, but he was never a big fan of long showers, so after three minutes he's out, and gets dressed quickly. He makes himself some food, but he's really not hungry, so he just throws it all in the sink, slamming the dishes with frustration. He looks around him at the empty house. When he realizes that he's actually sorry his mother isn't there, it makes him so fucking worried, he decides to go to HQ to start with the paperwork.

()()()

He drives the truck to HQ, he really does. But somehow he finds himself back in the hospital again. He makes his way into the quiet floor, and finds her entire family standing in her room, and around it, in the corridor. He finds a spot at the back, near the window, where he can sit comfortably and watch her room as well as the main doors. It takes almost an hour until all the guests leave, one after the other, letting the place get into a quiet nighttime mode. He's so tired, he falls asleep on the bench he occupies, even before he's sure they're all gone. Nobody sees him sitting there, as they all walk away from him and towards the exit. Well... almost nobody. Her mother spots him immediately, as soon as she steps out of her daughter's room.

()()()

"She's asleep" Mrs. Kalakaua whispers to him, waking him in an instant "you can go in, and sit in the armchair, you'll be much more comfortable."

"I'm..." he tries to say, still half asleep and confused. He doesn't recognize her on a first glance, but her voice, and the kind dimply smile gives her away after a few seconds, and he realizes it must be her mother. "It's fine" he says eventually "I'll be leaving soon, anyway."

"Of course you will" she says, quite unimpressed "tell me commander, do you always provide personal security detail when one of your team gets hurt?"

He thinks about past occurrences, of Chin's and Danny's brushes with the healthcare system "it depends" he confesses.

"I thought so" she laughs quietly "it's fine, Steve. I get it. Just... it would be great if you could demonstrate enough self discipline to actually let her sleep."

She leaves after that, so luckily, he doesn't really have to think of a proper answer. He steps quietly into Kono's room, and sees her sleeping soundly. He stands over her, examining her carefully. On her face she wears that familiar sweet expression, that he'll never be able to erase. He finds the armchair in the corner, and makes himself comfortable for the night. He's so tired, he's asleep the second his head touches the headrest.

()()()

He wakes up when he hears the arrival of the morning shift. She's still asleep, but he imagines she'll be waking up pretty soon. He walks to the bed, and runs his hand in her hair gently, then he steps out, and makes his way to the car.

()()()

It's four fucking days later, and he's still finding himself walking around his office like a caged animal. He lets Chin take all the personal time he needs to help her with the discharge from the hospital, with settling back at home, and with getting to the PT appointments. In the mean time, Danny and him are drowning under the piles of paperwork and arrests reviews. They complete the interrogations, filing the evidences, answer questions from the prosecution, and follow up on the weapon with ITF. Also, there's that other minor thing of the ongoing integrated investigation, and the inquiry of the use of military issued grenade in a regular police arrest. Between answering all _their_ questions, writing his formal statement, and the expected roll in the dirt in front of the governor, he hardly has time to anything else.

He relies on Chin's testimony of her good progress, and finds console in his constant positive reports, but it's hardly enough. He can't help but feel a bit excluded, and totally unhelpful, and also... he misses her like crazy. Honestly, he never thought it was possible to miss someone as badly as this. He opens his phone from time to time, and looks at the photo he took of her, there, near the waterfall. He runs his finger on the cold screen, and follows her figure slowly, as he tries to relive that exact moment in time. He looks at himself in the mirror, when he wakes up in the middle of the night, after dreaming about her for the hundredth time. "I'm fucking going crazy!" he tells his own image. It looks like it's in total agreement with this assumption.

()()()

"Can we finally end this lunacy?" Danny asks him one evening when it's 9 PM and he's still working on something on the computer.

"What do you mean?" he looks at him with surprise "I haven't done anything crazy in almost a week. I was buried in paperwork and investigations about my conduct, I was actually doing my best to follow protocol."

"I'm not talking about work, babe" Danny says exasperatingly "I'm talking about Kono."

"I haven't seen Kono in almost a week too, so I have no idea what you're talking about" he says a little bit to shakily than to be desired. He sends Danny a worried look, the guy only cocks his eyebrow at him, challenging him to continue. "Danny, it's late. You should go home" he tries.

"I'm not going anywhere until you pull your head out of your ass and get your shit together."

"Danny..."

"I know you love her, babe" he continues "and I can clearly see things got a little... _heavy_ in the jungle with you two. So tell me, why are you here, and not at her place for fuck's sakes?"

"I..." he looks at Danny anxiously, there's no way to deny it anymore "she has a boyfriend, she was very clear about..."

"She was _clear_?" Danny looks at him doubtfully "what exactly did she _say_ when you told her you loved her?"

"Loved her?" he cries "of course I didn't tell her I... it wasn't like that, we had a fight about Adam, and then, in the morning, we almost... Danny, it's fine. I honestly believe it's better this way, I mean with us working together, and ..."

"You are such a total waste of my time" Danny cuts him off angrily "I mean, why the hell do I bother? you don't listen, you don't even try to learn anything. What the fuck is your problem anyway? _can't you_ _communicate about anything_?" He walks around the office, flailing his arms in the air, and Steve finds himself unknowingly taking a small step back.

"What is there to communicate about?" he starts unsurely "it's _obvious_ that..."

"_Obvious?!_" Danny shouts "_obvious?!_ what the fuck is so obvious? did you go to her and told her Listen, Kono I'm fucking in love with you, I can't even breathe without you, and I'm endangering my partner's life driving and working and handling guns when I'm so fucking distracted, by spending most of my waking hours thinking about you and about my tongue in your throat?"

"Danny!" he exclaims.

"Shut up, you barbarian!" he warns "did you go and told her my darling Kono, please if you don't mind will you dump that son of a bitch you're so stupidly dating and come be with me?"

"No" he shouts back "of course I didn't go and told her all those... I mean, she'll probably freak out and..."

"Listen to me, Steve" he pokes him in his chest "get out of this office, get into your truck, go knock on her door and tell her you love her and that you want her to leave Adam for you. You can tell her it's a fucking order for all I care. Until you tell her exactly what you want and exactly how you feel, and until she says that she understands you, but she's sorry and the answer is no, _it's not fucking obvious!_ did you hear me?"

"Yes sir" he spits by instinct.

"Go! Now!" Danny shouts pushing him out of his office when he still looks doubtful.

"you know perfectly well, she won't just say no, she'll fucking kill me" he mumbles.

"That would _also_ be a reasonable solution" Danny notifies him.

He practically runs out of HQ after that.

()()()

She knows that it's him even before she opens the door. His knocks are so strong and demanding, like he tries to shake her entire world. He does. When she makes her way slowly, still limping a little, towards his constant banging on her door, she feels how she has to fight for every breath she takes.

He stands outside on the threshold. They were having a brutal rainstorm in the last couple of days, and he stands there as the rain is descending in pailfuls, soaking him.

"Steve" she breathes when she sees him, his eyes are burning when he looks at her silently.

"Hi" he says eventually. He seems unbothered with the fact that he's completely wet.

"Steve, what are you doing?" she says hurriedly "you should come in."

"I need to talk to you, first" he says quickly "I need to... I really think we should talk about a few things."

"Steve, you're soaked" she reaches to him with her hand "why don't you get in the house and dry yourself first, we can talk about everything when you're dry."

"You see, I didn't know what to do" he explains, ignoring her stretched out hand "I thought I should try to do the right thing and stay away from you, and let you..."

"Steve, it's raining like crazy" she stops him when a really big thunder is heard above them "please, can we continue this inside?"

"I'm not really used to talk about this sort of things" he continues without paying attention to her "about anything, comes to think about it. I honestly thought I was being professional, and that I was respecting your wishes, but I think it actually made more damage this way."

"Steve, it's crazy, you should get out of the rain" she tries to be more authoritative, but he only looks at her questioningly. This Navy boy doesn't seem to recognize authority all of a sudden. Well... at least when it comes from someone other than him...

"I know that I'm not the most reliable and easy choice" he says, cringing a little with this specific understatement "I don't like wine or fancy restaurants and hotels, or wear elegant clothes or listens to sophisticated music and all this crap, and my house is pretty simple, and... I don't think I'll survive an evening of just sitting, watching the sunset and...you know, talk... or... I'd actually rather die..."

"Steve" she smiles. He's right, of course, the idea of him sitting with a glass of wine in his hand, admiring the view idly, while talking about his feelings is simply preposterous.

"I..." he looks her in the eyes, the water dripping on his hair, and on his face "I told Catherine it's over. She's gone, out of the picture. She actually took it pretty well..." he says thoughtfully "didn't even hit me or called me names, or anything. Well... she said I was damaged, but I get this from Danny every single day anyway, so..."

"Steve" she shakes her head in despair, the guy never talks, never explains anything, and now that he does, he's making a complete mess out of everything. She starts to suspect it would have actually been better if he kept quiet "please come inside Steve, I'm worried you'll drown."

"I can't stop thinking about you." he says suddenly, his voice low and quiet like he's confessing a crime or something "I can't sleep, or eat. I'm losing my fucking mind."

"Oh for god's sakes" she cries impatiently when he still looks like he's searching for his words under the pouring rain "I'll come out, shall I? maybe we can make some progress this way..." She steps outside carefully, jumping on her good leg, trying to hold the wall for support. It's all so wet and slippery, she almost loses her balance and crashes into him, but he catches her easily, and hugs her in his strong arms.

"Please leave Adam" he whispers in her ear when she's buried inside him, his hot breaths mingle with the cold wind and the rain.

"I already did, baby" she whispers kissing him lovingly "the first chance I had after we came back."

()()()

"I take it back" she says breathlessly, after he practically collapses on the bed beside her.

"What?" he looks at her in alarm "why? I thought it was good..."

"Not the I love you, I want to have sex with you, I want to be with you every single minute of the day part" she laughs "I'm pretty sure I meant that..."

"Good" he smiles, in relief "what then?"

"In the forest, when I suggested that maybe you are not as... eemmm... experienced as you ought to be..."

"Really?" he smiles smugly at her "you want to take it back?"

"You're right" she shrugs happily "it's not the number of partners, it's the quality of the act..."

"So you think I have quality?" he laughs, coming to lie on top of her, kissing her forcefully, and taking her breath away all over again.

"_Very high quality_" she clarifies excitedly "I would say you are practically on the verge of greatness."

"Only on the verge?" he looks insulted, his hand travels down her body, and in between her thighs.

"You are a very diligent, meticulous and attentive lover, baby" she whimpers "but, I think I can still teach you a few things..."

"I see" he drawls as he brushes her nose with his own, while his lips starts a trail of kisses on her sweaty face "as you know, I'm very inquisitive and curious in nature, I think I'll be an excellent pupil..."

"Oh fuck, Steve" she cries when his hand touches a certain delicious spot of her anatomy.

"Precisely!" he whispers in her ear.

()()()

They drive in the Camaro one morning on the way to the Naval base after a sensitive equipment from the base was recovered in a robbery case they were working on. Steve sits shotgun, using the ride to go over the calcified data, and on the list of authorized personnel with direct access to the equipment. When Danny turns into the Lunalilo freeway, and pulls down the car sunshade mirror, he discovers something new under it.

"What is that?"

"What?" Steve looks up "this, is a picture of Grace."

"I know it's a picture of Grace" Danny says exasperatingly "I think I can recognize my own daughter, thank you very much. I'm talking about that..." he pulls another picture from behind the sunshade.

"That?" Steve says happily "that is a visual aid."

"A visual aid?" Danny looks at him in annoyance, he has a strong sense of Déjà vu suddenly "Steve, this is a picture of Kono. In a bathing suit. In the sunset."

"I know exactly what it is, Danny" he answers patiently "_I took this picture_, when we were in the jungle together."

"For god's sakes, Steve, why do we need a picture of Kono in the car?" Danny looks at him like he's crazy.

"What's wrong?" he sounds surprised "she's beautiful, and it's a great picture."

"I didn't say she wasn't beautiful" Danny says raising his voice a little "she's amazing. One of the best looking women I know."

"Hey, watch out..." he warns, furrowing his brows.

"I just don't understand why you need it" Danny continues, ignoring him "you see her the whole day, every day. Why would you need a picture?"

"I don't see her_ now_" Steve points out helpfully "as you can clearly see, she's not here."

"Look, Steve" Danny says irritated "Grace's picture has its purpose. I don't see her every day, so when I miss her, I look at the picture and it makes me feel better. When we get into a risky situation, I take a look at my daughter, and I remember to be careful. You hardly have time to miss Kono. Even when she's working with Chin, you always find the smallest excuse to call her. For crying out loud, you practically call her every ten minutes. This picture thing, it's borderline obsessive."

"I don't care" Steve shrugs "this is _my picture_, I can hang it anywhere I want."

"It's _my car_, Steve!" Danny exclaims "hang it in your own fucking car. I swear, if _I'd_ miss Kono, I'll go to look at the picture _there_."

"I don't need it in my car" he murmurs under his breath "this one is for here..."

"You have another copy of it in your truck, don't you?" Danny looks at him horrified "fuck Steve, what kind of man are you?"

"It's fine. It's just for the cars..." he tries to sound apologetic.

"Oh my god, she doesn't even know that you have them, does she?" Danny looks at him in disgust.

"I'm not sure" he grumbles "I might have forgotten to mention it..."

()()()

He walks from the elevator back to HQ and sees Kono talking to Danny and Chin near the smart table. She has her back towards him, but he can see Danny's expressions change with every word she's saying. He looks surprised, and then horrified, and then his eyes light up with excitement and he smiles, looking smug, and happy and obscenely delighted. It takes him a few seconds to realize what is happening and to run towards the glass doors and try and stop it. He's too late though, when he bursts into the room and they all look at him, he sees Danny's eyes are already filled with tears of happiness.

"I love you Kono" he hears Danny saying "I want you to have my second child."

"Hey, hey" he moves quickly towards the smart table, and stands between them, just in case.

"You're welcome, Danny" she smiles sweetly "I thought you'd probably like it."

"You told them about the hog, didn't you?" he asks rhetorically closing his eyes with a pained expression.

"Yes, she did" Danny smiles "by the way babe, you don't have to buy me Christmas presents in the next three years" he tells her.

"I thought we had a deal" he pouts, shaking his head in despair "you know exactly what he's going to do to me from now on..."

"I'm sorry" she smiles sheepishly "I thought I owe it to him. I mean, he was the one who made you come to see me that night. I thought he deserved it..."

"You're _my girlfriend_" he tells her pointedly "you're supposed to concentrate on what _I deserve_..."

"I'm your girlfriend?" she looks at him in shock. They all do, actually. He momentarily feels like he let go too much, but she has this beautiful pink blush on her face and that happy shy glint in her eyes, so he makes a quick executive decision, and just goes with it.

"I'm afraid so" he says seriously "we spend our Friday and Saturday nights together, and I make all my plans according to your schedule and we... eeemmm... coordinate. You have half your wardrobe in my place, and I have most of my stuff in your house, too. We talk about things, and I tell you what I feel, and what I want, _shut up Danny_" he warns when he sees his partner wanting to speak "and last time I went shopping I actually bought two packs of tampons for you so... _Danny, say something, and I'll shoot you! _so that pretty much makes you my girlfriend" He concludes.

"Right..." she smiles after a few shocked seconds "these are all really excellent points. I didn't realize it until now. Thanks for telling me, babe..."

"You're welcome" he nods seriously "now, if we could focus here, Danny I have some new information from the Navy provision officer, I want to go to HPD to talk to the second suspect again. Chin, Kono I asked him to send you the full inventory from the last three months. They think it was a full scale smuggling operation, I need you to cross it with the black shipments we found. Let's go guys, we don't have all day... "

()()()

Steve and Danny go to Steve's office to find the report from the first interrogation. When they're out of earshot, she looks at her cousin on the other side of the smart table, raising her eyebrow questioningly at him. When he sees her blushing to the roots of her hair, he immediately bursts out with laughter.

"Don't look at me, Cuz" he laughs "I'm more surprised at this than you are."

"Yes" she insists "but, is it OK?"

"Kono..." he smiles "you're joking, right? I've known you since you were a baby, and I don't think I've never seen you so happy."

"Right" she smiles widely "Good."

"Very good" he nods in agreement, smiling again at her satisfied look "Kono, don't worry, I'm really happy. I couldn't choose a better man for you, myself."

()()()

"A hog!" they hear Steve say angrily as the two partners step out of his office "a feral hog. They are very strong, and extremely dangerous."

"You're lying. I heard your girlfriend, I bet it was a small pink teapot pig with a cute little nose, like in that movie Grace likes so much."

"It was enormous" he insists "weighed almost 200lb, with big sharp teeth and an angry temper."

"You're full of shit. It was a sweet little female pig with a few little puppies she was taking care of, I bet she only came for a cuddle."

"Puppies? pigs don't have puppies, Danny. They have..."

"So it _was _a pig, ha? what happened to the hog all of a sudden? you see? I knew you were lying..."

They don't catch Steve's furious response to this, and it's probably better this way.

"Are you hungry?" they hear Danny's voice from the elevator after a silent and tensed couple of minutes "I suddenly have a craving for some pork spare ribs..."

* * *

**A/N2**:My thanks to sweet Christinaxa who made a few suggestions. Kono's picture and Danny's present are yours, my dear. The scene in the car is partially influenced by a similar scene in episode s01e09, you know back when the show was perfect...


End file.
